I'll Always Be There
by brucasfanatic
Summary: Nookie friendship fic. Everything that happened on the show has happened. Brooke is there for Nathan in his time of need. Ultimatley a Brucas and Naley pairing. But will mainly concentrate on NB friendship. I suck at reviews, so just give it a chance. R
1. Default Chapter

**Hey everybody! You probably know me as brucasfanatic101 from my reviews for some of your stories. But when I registered here I forgot to right the number! Lolz Ok. This is the 2nd fic I've EVER written. And it's my first Nookie fic. So please please be patient! But still tell me how I could make it better! This is strictly a Nookie friendship story! Well for now anyways. I'm going to have a Brucas and Naley pairing in the end. But it'll mostly concentrate on Nookie friendship and how they help eachother through everything. It's like the evil side of Laley! lol. Please read and review! Hope you like it:D**

Brooke walks down the lobby at school wearing a grim expression on her face.

"Hey Brooke!"

"Hey Luke."

"Wow. Our very own cheery even broodier than I am! Oh how the mighty have fallen."

Brooke can't help but grin at him. "Very poetic Mr. Scott. That Dante guy must have really had an impression on you."

"Uh…Brooke that wasn't Dante…"

"Whatever. I will have you know that I am still the cheery cheerleader you know and love. I'm just sulking a little. But you can be SURE that I will NEVER sink to your level of broodiness Broody Boy"

Lucas laughed at her sudden changed of attitude. His heart couldn't help but give a little jump to the use of her nickname for him.

"So….Why are you uhh…sulking?"

Brooke sighed. "Remember how I told you about my dad's job in California?"

Lucas' smile disappeared. "Uhh...yeah."

"Well, I figured I would live with Peyton instead. You know, cuz I practically live there anyways—"

"Then what's the problem?" Lucas hoped that she didn't catch the anxiety he was feeling. _She can't leave._

"I was getting to that!" she said irritated. She didn't mean to snap at him but she just didn't know what to do. "Nikki's back an—"

"What does that have to do with you moving?"

Brooke took a deep breath. "You know Luke, we could just stand here all day and watch you try and guess what's happening OR I would just tell you." She said this with a touch of irritation in her voice. She was geared in bitch mode.

"Ok. Ok sorry."

"Well anyways, Nikki's back, and so Jake is of course going insane trying to keep her away from Jenny. So they're staying at Peyton's for a while. You know I love them and Jenny to death but not enough to go through them bickering like a married couple all night."

"So….what are you going to do?

"I dunno." She sighed. "Maybe I could get my job back at the Crab Shack and just crash in their fridge? I'm sure Crab Carl would lov—" She stopped dead in her tracks and just stared wide eyed at the scene in front of her.

Nathan was in the middle of the hall making out with some random girl.

"Is that BEVIN!" Brooke screamed.

Lucas glared at Nathan as he continued to slobber all over a girl who wasn't Haley. Brooke on the other hand had had enough. She started charging off towards the pair pushing Bevin away from Nathan.

"Hate to break this little revolting escapade, but this guy's taken bitch. So I suggest you go and suck face with one of the locals down at Barley's Bar!"

"Brooke! What the hell are you doing?" Nathan yelled as he violently pulled her to face him.

"I could as you the same thing! Might I remind you that You're MARRIED?"

"Really? Cuz last time I checked you needed both the husband AND wife to have a good marriage. Look around you Brooke!" he waved his hands around. "Do you see a wife anywhere!"

"And you think that JUSTIFIES what you're doing!"

"You know what Brooke I don't have to justify anything! Especially to you! You don't know how I feel!"

Brooke was about to respond when she noticed that a large crowd had formed around her and Nathan. "You know…" She started obviously irritated. "Last time I checked, WE DIDN'T HAVE A FRIGGEN BROADWAY SIGN ON OUR HEADS!" and with that, the crowd got the hint and started scurrying off leaving Brooke and Nathan's conversation hard to hear. Brooke turned back to Nathan. "Believe me…" She started with a slight edge to her voice. "I have a pretty good idea."

Nathan stared at her for a bit and she stared right back. "Then you should understand that I don't have to defend myself to anyone."

"No Nathan, you do! If you keep going on like this then when Haley gets back she's going to want to turn right back to Chris."

Nathan's heart raced as he noticed that she said '_when_' instead of '_if_'. "Why are you acting as if she's coming back?" he demanded accusingly.

"Why are you acting like she isn't?" she shot right back.

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Each matching each other's glare.

"You know I don't know what you're problem is. But Nathan is over Haley. So I suggest you stop sticking your nose into our business and disappear. Let's go Nathan." Bevin grabbed Nathan's shoulder and began walking.

But Nathan didn't budge. He just continued to stare at Brooke with a lost expression in his eyes. "Forget it Bevin." He jerked his arm from her grip and without another word, walked away.

Bevin glared at Brooke who smirked at her. "Barley's bar is just around the corner."

Bevin just stared at her with deepest loathing and then turned and walked away.

Lucas, who had witnessed the entire scene, came behind Brooke. "What did you say to him?"

Brooke's eyes softened as she stared at Nathan's retreating form. "Just the truth." She said quietly.

**Well? Good? Bad? Please tell me! I know it didn't have much Nookie friendship in this chapter. But I have to start off from the last episode. There will be lots of friendship scenes in the chapters ahead! And I will have brucas:D PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Luvies! **


	2. Tear My Heart Open

**Hey guys! Thank you sooo much for the great reviews:D im glad you liked it! **

**Here's another! And lots more Nookie:D And i know some of you are gonna want Nookie pairing, but Brucas is going so well right now that i don't have the heart to ruin it:( sorry. but hey! the story is still young! ;) anyways, here's the next update! hope you like it:D I called it tear my heart open after that song by papa roch. it reminds me SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much of these two right now! im making a video using it about them! i might post it if your good:P anyways, please Read & Review! Luvies   
**

Lucas stands in front of a door looking at it with a worried expression. He takes a deep breath as he knocks and waits for an answer. When none came, he sighed and opened it himself.

"Nathan?" he gasps as he enters the apartment. The place is painted pink from top to bottom and the furniture was all turned upside down. He walked around stepping over broken pieces of furniture here and there. He entered the kitchen where he sees Nathan sitting on the chair sulking with a half empty beer bottle in his hand. He doesn't even seem to acknowledge his brother's presence. He just sits there with his back slumped over staring at the floor.

"What the hell happened? It looks like the circus passed through here!"

"What do you want Lucas?" Nathan asks unfazed. Lucas stares at him sympathetically. He seemed lost and looked like he hadn't showered in days.

"I was just here to check up on you man."

"I don't need you to check up on me!" he snapped. What the hell did these people want from him? Why did they keep pushing so hard? "Why don't you people get that?"

"Listen man, we're just worried about you ok? You look like shit."

"Well I'm fine alright?" he yelled irritated.

"Look man, I know how you feel—"

"Actually Lucas, you have no clue how I feel alright?"

"Well then, talk to me man."

"Forget it Luke." He mumbled dully.

"So…how are you doing?"

Nathan laughed bitterly. "Just great Lucas! Just friggen GREAT. Life is perfect for me! Can't you tell?" he yelled sarcastically.

"Ok…ok….sorry. Stupid question." He held his hands up in defense and sighed. They sat in science for what seemed like forever.

"Listen man, I'm sure everything will work out. I mean Haley just needs some—"

"You know what Luke? I've heard it all before alright? I already heard that she'll probably come back. Or that she was just confused! But you know what? I don't give a damn! I just need you all to leave me the hell alone!" He said the last part with such force that Lucas pulled back a bit. He just sat there staring at his brother, shocked at his outburst.

"Well uhh…I guess I'll go. You sure you'll be fine?"

"I'm fine Luke." He said calmly.

Lucas just nodded and walked away defeated. Nathan waited for a sign of the door closing. When he was sure Lucas had left, he got up off his chair and through the bottle at the wall, screaming his loudest.

**LATER THAT DAY**

Brooke walks down the street looking up at the sky. She takes a deep breath and sighs. 'When did my life get so messed up?' She turned her gaze towards the beach when something caught her eye. She didn't know what it was at first but when she focused for a better look, she recognized it. There, sitting on the bench, was a brooding Nathan staring out at the beach. Brooke's heart sank. She remembered how care free Nathan was before he met Haley. But now, he was so broken, and that hurt her for some reason. She didn't quite understand why she cared so much. She was never really his favorite person, and vice-versa. She continued to look at him with a heavy heart. She took a deep breath and walked towards him.

"Hey Nate." She said softly.

Nathan looked up surprised to see her. "If you're here to give me another lecture on how everything is ok, I suggest you keep walking." He said bitterly and went back to looking ocean.

at the abandoned Brooke frowned. Well if he was going to be a bastard about it why should she bother? She started turning to head back but then she caught a glimpse of his face. It looked so hard and so cold. But she could still see the loneliness in his eyes. She stopped and stared at him for a while before sighing and sitting next to him.

This action surprised him and for a while he looked at her strangely as if she was insane.

She caught the look he gave her. "What?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I _was _going to come and talk to you. But since your being a selfish jackass, then I guess I could just work on my tan."

"Brooke, it's night time."

"And that means that I won't get sun burn." She said matter of factly.

Nathan just stared at her speechless. 'What is up with this girl?' he turned back to the ocean. "Don't bother asking me how I'm doing."

"I wasn't going to." She said flatly. Nathan gave her a weird look. She sighed. "Nathan, I already know that you feel like shit right now. What's the point of making you say it out loud?"

"Then…why are you here?" Nathan couldn't tell why, but he didn't feel pressured by her like he had with Lucas that morning. He felt…comfortable.

"Look Nate. I know how you feel ok? Feeling all this hate towards the girl that you fell in love with? I get it. But what I don't get is why you keep pushing every one else away?"

"I don't need any of their pity." He mumbled.

Brooke looked at him for a minute. "Great. So now you're a hypocrite."

Nathan snapped his head up at her. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you say that you don't want them to pity you. But then you go and act like you're a little lost child who needs to be watched over? That's a bit hypocritical."

Nathan couldn't believe what she had just said to him. What the hell gave her the right to waltz on out here and make accusations against him? "Brooke you don't know what I'm—"

"Oh please Nathan I know perfectly well what you're feeling!" she snapped irritated. "I also know what it feels like to deal with it alone! And believe me it sucks a hell of a lot more than when you have people with you! So I suggest you count your blessings and let people in!"

Nathan didn't look at her. He just watched the waves crash as the hit the shore thinking over what she said.

"Look, I'm not saying that you pour your heart out to them, just…let them be there. Don't let your life end just because Haley made a mistake."

"But Haley was my life!" he yelled and Brooke was surprised to hear his voice crack. "Brooke, I loved her. I **love** her. I mean…" he laughed bitterly. "I'm Nathan Scott. The top player of Tree Hill—and I don't mean in basket ball." Brooke let out a little laugh. "I justI never thought I could love someone that much. I would have done anything for her. But now…"

"you don't know if it's worth it." She finished for him. He looked up at her and for the first time saw the flash of sadness in her eyes. He just nodded and knew she understood.

Brooke sighed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the summer air. "Who would have thought? That the Queen Cheer Bitch and Jock captain of the basketball team would be brought down by the loner Duo of Tree Hill?" she smiled sadly and Nathan just chuckled.

"Yeah, fate can be a bitch."

Brooke let out a laugh. "You know, I think this was just their way of a prolonged pay back." She smirked. "For all the things you and I did to them before we actually knew them."

Nathan laughed. "Yeah. Who woulda thought that they'd do so much damage?" Brooke smiled.

"We had it coming I guess…" she trailed off.

Nathan's face hardened. "But this time, we won't forgive them."

"What do you mean?"

"If Haley wants out of this marriage then that's what she'll get!"

"Nathan would you stop it? Haley loves you!"

"Yeah? Well that certainly didn't stop her from running off with that bastard Chris!"

"She went for her music not for him!"

"Oh that's bullshit Brooke and you know it!"

"Nathan you can't just turn your back on your marriage like that! It's for better or for worse. You knew that going into this thing!" she yelled.

"Yeah well so did Haley!" he shot back.

Brooke opened her mouth to say something but shut it again. "We all make mistakes Nathan." She said softly. "Eventually we have to try and forgive them."

"I just—" He lowered his voice, sounding unsure of himself. "I don't think we can ever go back to how we were before."

"Well you have to try." Her voice softened. "I mean, if you truly love her then you'll give her another chance."

Nathan paused for a moment. "Would you?" Brooke looked at him confused. "Would you give Lucas another chance?"

"That was different."

"How?"

"Well for starters, we weren't married!" she snapped.

"Which is why what she did was worse!"

"But you can't just throw it away either! It's a lot harder to just dump someone when you're married Nathan."

"And you can't just up and leave them either!" he shot back.

Brooke couldn't even look at him right now. She just turned away and looked at the ocean. "I don't really know why you're complaining." She said after a few minutes of silence.

"What? About your talking?" Nathan shot sarcastically.

Brooke just chuckled. "No. About what Haley's doing. You know, when she gets back, she's going to _owe_ you." she smirked at him. "Lots and lots."

Nathan stared at her bewildered at her change of attitude. "Brooke, you're just sick!"

"Oh please! As if you weren't thinking about it!"

"I wasn't!" he said defensively. Brooke gave him a knowing look. He smirked. "Maybe just a little…."

"You keep telling yourself that Boy Toy." Nathan laughed.

They stayed quiet for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, until Nathan's voice broke the silence.

"What else?" he asks suddenly in a calm voice.

"What?"

"What else makes what happened between you and Lucas different from me and Haley?"

Brooke didn't answer right away. She just continued to stare off into the distance. Finally, she said in a quiet voice. "She loves you back."

Nathan watched her for a moment. He had never known this side of Brooke before. He always thought she was just the shallow cheerleader. And when he used to see her in the halls during the 'incident', it never seemed like it hurt her at all. He tried to imagine how hard it really was for her. How hard it was for her to go through it all alone. Suddenly a strange feeling of relief washed over him. He wouldn't have to go through that.

Brooke's voice interrupted his thoughts. "So, I heard you got free punches at both Dan AND Lucas." She turned to him, smirking.

Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, I was a mess."

"Did you ever know that you're my hero?" Nathan laughed.

"You liked that huh?"

"Oh yeah, I tried to imagine it a couple of times. The Dan one never gets old." They laughed. "If only I could gather enough strength to do that to my dad." She sighed.

"Believe me, it's worth it." He smirked. Brooke let out a genuine laugh. It was then he realized that life wasn't as horrible as he thought. He missed Haley with all his heart, but it wasn't the end of the world. He remembered what Brooke had told him about Haley coming back. He'd wait for her, and when she got back, he'd make sure she had a reason to stay. He would be ok.

"So…wanna give me the details in using Dan as a punching bag?" Brooke's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He smiled at her. They both would be.

**WELP! that's it for now:D hope you liked it! the nookie bit was fun for me! im sorry if it was a little confusing. i was trying to bring out the way both Brooke and Nathan were feeling. and why Brooke felt so attatched to him right now. hope it made sense:D  
**


	3. Brooke Davis

**Hey Gys! Omg! Thank you soooo much for the reviews! They all made me giddy! Lolz. I wasn't expecting this story to be popular. I don't think many people on this site like my other story. But meh. I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated in forever! But school's being a total biotch and I'm up to my neck with essays!  But I'll try to update sooner next time! I'm going to warn you right now that this isn't one of my best chapters. I couldn't get my head around the characters so forgive me if it's a little…'blah', for lack of a better word. But still please review! Thank you! Enjoy! As much as you can….luvies!**

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Riiinngg

The lunch bell at Tree Hill secondary school rung and a flood of students rushed out of their class rooms to go eat. Lucas was walking down the hall as he made his way to his locker through the crowd.

"Hey Lucas!"

Lucas looked back and smiled when he saw Peyton running towards him.

"Hey Peyton. What's gotten you so worked up?"

"Oh just a certain toddler and her dad." Peyton couldn't help but grin.

"Things going good for you and Jake?"

"And Jenny." She reminded him. "Yeah. I mean, the Nikki situation is a pain in the ass but it's pretty good you know? I mean" She let out a small laugh. "Yesterday Jenny woke up in the middle of the night and Jake made me get up and get her. She had thrown her teddy out of the crib and couldn't get to it. Kept me awake half the night."

"Looks like you've got your hands full."

"Yeah, But it's worth it you know? After a while Jake came up to see her, and he helped me put her to sleep. We all ended up sleeping on the couch!" she laughed.

"Who woulda thought that you would already have a full time family?" Lucas teased.

Peyton grinned. "Yeah, it's crazy huh? I mean before it was just me and my dad. Now it's us, Jake, and Jenny."

Lucas smiled. "I'm happy for you Pey. You deserved this."

Peyton looked at him and smiled. "Thanks Luke." She turns back and sighs. "I just wish a certain someone could be as lucky." She nods her head towards Nathan standing alone at his locker. The two exchanged worried glances as they walked towards their friend.

"Hey Nate." Peyton offered slowly. She didn't know exactly how he was doing, but she knew it had to be killing him.

To their surprise, Nathan looked up and smiled. "Hey guys."

Peyton looked at Lucas clearly shocked. "Uhh…how you doing man?"

"I'm fine Luke." Nate suppressed a sigh. He knew that Lucas was worried about him, but if he heard that question one more time he was going to snap.

"Nate you don't have to lie to us. We're here for you." Peyton stated worriedly. He was acting different and if it weren't for the situations, she would have thought he was the old Nathan.

"Peyton I'm not lying." He looked at the two as they glanced at each other obviously worried. "Really. I'm fine." But the two just cast sympathetic looks his way. Nathan sighed. There was no point in trying to convince them. He knew he was acting strange given the circumstances but he decided he wasn't going to sulk anymore. He was relieved when he saw a familiar face show up in the crowd.

"Hey BROOKE!" he yelled as he ushered her over.

Brook saw her friends and immediately skipped over to join them. "Hey Boy Toy! Broody, Goldie, what's new?"

They all laughed at their friend's burst of energy. "Well Cheery, we were just discussing how Peyton here is already a full time mom." Peyton blushed as Lucas smirked. He decided to leave their worries about Nathan out of it. He didn't know if Nathan wanted Brooke to know anything.

"Oh well, I _would _be happy for you Pey, if you hadn't thrown me out for them." Brooke crossed her arms and glared at her friend.

"Brooke I didn't kick you out! You're the one who couldn't stand Jenny's crying and left!"

"Well can you blame me! The girl's a friggen fountain! She gives the saying 'Cry me a river' a whole new meaning!"

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Well did you manage to find a new apartment yet?"

Brooke was about to answer when Nathan stepped in. "Wait, why are you looking for another apartment?"

Peyton shut her eyes when she realized what she had said. She knew Brooke didn't want anyone to know her financial problems. And Nathan wasn't exactly one to let off of gossip.

But Brooke didn't seem to mind much. "Well daddy dearest got a job out in Cali, so they're selling the house. There's no way in hell I'm going so I'm looking for a place to crash or I'm homeless." She said this with slight irritation and sarcasm in her voice.

Lucas was surprised at Brooke's bluntness. He didn't understand why but they were acting differently around each other. Almost…civil. Which was saying something.

"What's going on with you tw—"

"Mr. Scott!"

Nathan and Lucas turned to face their English teacher Mr. Jakens. They glanced at each other and then back at the teacher. Mr. Jakens rolled his eyes. "Lucas."

"Shit. That's probably about my English paper." He grumbled and walked towards his teacher.

Brooke chuckled at her friend and shook her head. "And I thought I was screwed in English." She smirked.

Peyton chuckled. "Listen, I gotta get going. I'll see you guys later?"

She waved at them and turned around and disappeared.

"She seems happy." Brooke said softly watching her friend walk away.

"Yeah…I'm still getting used to it." He teased.

Brooke laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder as they began walking.

"So how long has this been going on?"

"Hmm?"

"You're parents selling the house? That's been a Davis house since this town was built. It's practically a monument."

"Yeah well, a lot's changed Nathan." She tried to sound casual, but Nathan could tell that she was upset by the distant tone in her voice.

"So…how is the apartment search going?" he tried to sound as cheerful as he could, hoping that it would get her spirits up.

Brooke cast a nervous glance around her and then abruptly grabbed him by the arm and rushed him to a corner.

"Can you keep a secret?" he could hear the anxiety in her voice and immediately began to worry.

"Uh—yeah. What's up?"

Brooke bit her lip contemplating whether she should trust him or not. She finally made her decision and took a deep breath. "I haven't been looking for any apartments." She blurted out.

Nathan looked at her confused as to why she was so worried. "O..K?"

"No…I'm NOT going to look for any."

Nathan's eyes widened. "What! Brooke ar—"

"Shhhh!" she waved her arms in his face to shut him up.

He calmed down. "Why aren't you?"

"Because...look, I can't live by my self alright? Did you know that they expect a monthly pay in rent? I can't come up with that sort of money!"

Nathan rolled his eyes at you. "Well that's why you get a JOB, Brooke."

Brooke looked at him like he had two heads. "Hi there. I'm Brooke Davis. I've lived next to you for the past sixteen years but I don't think we've been introduced!HELLO NATHAN! This is ME here! Brooke Davis? Captain of the cheerleading team? Girl who can't save her money for more than a day Brooke? Ring a bell? I can't work to earn a living! Trust me! I tried it for my car insurance and let's just say I got into a crabby situation."

Nathan rolled his eyes at her comments. "Brooke, I know its hard ok? I was like you to remember? It's a hell of a lot different and hard work but you get used to it."

"That's easy for you to say! Nathan, if it hadn't worked out for you then you knew that your parents would help out somehow. I'm on my own in this. I can't just up and change my whole lifestyle." She through her hands up defeated and went to sit on a near by bench.

Nathan sighed. "Well then what do you expect to do? Do you think life as a hobo would suit you better than working?"

Brooke pouted as she sulked on the bench. "Probably. I mean, I'm really good at begging. Plus I've always been able to trick people into giving me what I want."

Nathan chuckled. "Yeah but that was because you looked so cute. But as a hobo, you're going to look 30 years older and your hair is going to start falling off until you're bald! And then no one would even glance at you!" he said this as dramatically as possible trying to irritate the brunette. Brooke turned her head and scowled at him.

He just laughed. "Look, how about after school you and I go job hunting? I'll make sure to get you a place where they don't require too much work." He added that last bit sarcastically.

Brooke huffed. "Don't waste your time Nate. I can't get a job anywhere cuz my damn résumé's too blank."

"Oh please. I thought you said you were good at getting what you want?" he teased. "Look, we'll at least have to try it alright? If it doesn't work out, then…we'll figure something out."

Brooke smiled and nodded. "Anyways, I better go get something to eat before next class. It's gym and Whitey's making us do suicides." He let out a frustrated sigh and got up to leave but he was stopped by Brooke's voice calling him."

"Nathan wait!"

He turned and looked at her confused. "Just…don't tell Peyton anything alright?" she sounded like a kid afraid of her mother.

"Uhh...why?"

"Because she'd kick my ASS!" Nathan laughed and nodded as he turned and headed to the cafeteria.

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**Ok! OK! So I know it wasn't that great. But I lost all characterization for Peyton. I have no way how to write her, so she pretty much messed me up for the whole thing. Anyways, I've already started my other chapter so I'll probably up date a LOT sooner this time! Lolz. Lets hope it's better than that:D Anyways, in the next chapter, there will be a little more drama than this one! Nathan helps out Brookie, will Jeyton really have a happy ending? Meh…I suck at summaries and spoilers! Lolz, just bear with me! Thanks again for your reviews:D**


	4. I'm here for you

I'm here for you.

RIINNGG

The bell rings signaling the end of the day. A flood of students rush out the front door eagerly trying to get out of school.

Brooke is waiting impatiently at the front of the school and glances around anxiously from time to time. She checks her watch and sighs when she noticed she'd been waiting for more than 25 minutes. Just when she started walking away, she saw him running towards her.

"Hey"

"You're late" she shot bitterly.

"K, Buddy, I'm helping you out here ok? A little more gratitude please?"

Brooke rolled her eyes and groaned. "Can we just get this over with?"

She turned around and strode off to her car. Nathan sighed and followed suite. They got in the car and drove off, oblivious to a confused Lucas who had witnessed them from afar. Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked away.

Back in the car

"Ok, so first thing we need to do is find out what you're good at." He paused a moment to think. "What…are you good at?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Well let's see…flirting, partying, se—"

"Ok. Ok. Stop! I meant things that would help you in your JOB!" he waited for a moment before he realized she wasn't going to answer. "O…K. This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Then maybe we should just forget it."

"No Brooke." He said sternly. "You need to do this. You can't live off you're dad's money forever."

"My mom seems to have no problem with it." She mumbled. Nathan shook his head and smirked.

"And that's another reason why you should avoid doing so."

Brooke glanced at him and sighed. "Guess you're right." She paused, and thought hard. "Well…I'm really good with people. That helped me get that crab job."

"Ok." Nathan opened his back pack and took out his laptop. "Good…people…skills…" he said out loud as he typed.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing your résumé."

"But I already have one." She fished through her bag and pulled out a practically empty paper. Nathan just looked at her.

"Brooke…do you want another crab job?"

"What? Heck no!"

"Then I'm writing your résumé."

"Whatever" she sighed.

"Now, what else?"

"Ummm…well…I'm good at planning parties."

"Planned…many…social…events."

"And I am the captain of the cheerleading squad."

"Excellent leadership skills."

"I don't let people get in my way."

"Determined to get the job done."

"And if anyone even tries, I'll set them straight!" She said bitterly.

Nathan thought for a moment before he started typing again. "Good sense of negotiation."

"Damn, you're good." She smirked, impressed.

"I try. Now, what have you done?"

"Besides plan parties?" She thought hard for a moment. "Well, nothing really."

Nathan sighed. "Haven't you ever helped anybody in a job or something?"

"Nope…"

"Ok…ummm…you teach the girls techniques for cheerleading right? So that means you're creative…attent…ive….and patient."

"HAH!"

"Well you're supposed to be. Anyways we'll put down you won best choreographer."

"Remind me how this is going to help me get a job again?"

"It's going to help make your resume look less like a title page. Now stop complaining and help me out."

"God! Tutor-Girl sure did a number on you!"

"Brooke!" he groaned.

She giggled. "Ok, ok. Ummmm…well, in grade 7 I gave my entire allowance to a homeless family."

"Really?" he said both impressed and shocked. He never pictured Brooke really helping out the 'little guys' as she liked to put it.

"Well..yeah…sorta." she gave him a nervous glance.

"Brooke…."

"Well…I was kind of paying them back for running into their shelter." She smiled meekly.

"YOU WHAT?"

"I was 12 ok! And I had just gotten this car...I paid them triple that cardboard box would ever have been worth! I practically did them a favor!"

Nathan shook his head in disbelief. "Whatever. Let's just say you donated to many charities."

"Ok. Ummm…Ooh! Ooh!I helped in the fashion show last year!"

"Experienced in fashion."

"I redecorated Peyton's room 100s of times."

"Experienced in interior design."

"Ummm…that's it—Oh yeah, and I'm president!" she smiled widely, flashing her brilliant dimples.

"Oh yeah. And you started that taxi service thing."

"Yeppers!" she smiled. "DWnotI is doing great!"

Nathan finished typing on the laptop. He looked over it one more time. "Ok…looks good. Drop by Staples and we'll print out copies."

"Brooke! Go! Please?" Nathan pleaded as he tried to push her into the café. It had been a long day of interviews and they hadn't been able to get anywhere. They were both exhausted and wanted to go home. Brooke—who was pushing with all her might against the edge of the doors to stop from being pushed in—was especially tired and wanted to give up. "Nathan!" she whined. "What's the point? Common, none of the others took me." She pouted as she struggled to keep out of the door.

"Well you WOULD have gotten that bakery job if you hadn't told off the manager!"

"Oh please! You would snap too if a 56 year old checked you out!" she defended.

"Ok, fine but what about that worker in Stitches you jumped?"

"She was making fun of my outfit! Snobby little bitch."

Nathan sighed and gave up pushing. "Ok, ok, fine. We'll go home."

Brooke turned a suspicious glance to him. "Promise?" He nodded his head and she hesitantly let go of the door frame.

"Psych!" he yelled pushing her in as soon as she let go.

"Nathan!" Brooke tried to get around him but he stood firm blocking the door. "You promised I wouldn't have to do this!" she pouted.

"No, I promised we'd go home. I never said when." He smirked, proud of himself.

Brooke glared at him." This is the last one!" she swiftly turned on her heel, put on her confidant face, and walked up to the counter.

"Hi there, I'm interesting in applying for a job here. Can I speak to your manager?"

The young male worker smirked. "I'll be the manager for you any day." He said slyly checking her out and stopping at her breasts.

Brooke clenched her jaw. "I'm up here jackass." She shot. "Now, I suggest you take your horny ass—"

"What my friend meant to say…" Nathan cut her off. "…was that she's flattered but would like to talk to the manager of the place." The guy nodded and checked Brooke out one more time before turning and disappearing at the back.

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him as he walked away. Brooke whipped around and seethed at him. "What the hell was that? That jerk was asking for a total ass whooping!"

"And he'll get it…after your interview." His tone showed there was no room for argument.

Brooke huffed. "You're jus doing this to punish me for something, aren't you?"

"Whatever helps you get through this." He laughed, and she stuck her tongue out.

"Hem hem." They turned and saw an elderly woman staring back at them.

She had dirty blonde hair which was at the peak of graying, tied up in a tight bun. She wore a hair net that flattened her hair down revealing her oval shaped head and she had on an ancient skirt under her white, tattered blouse. "Umm…hi? Brooke was surprised by the appearance of the woman. Her gray eyes narrowed to a slit as she studied the two teenagers skeptically. Brooke really didn't like the way the woman was looking at her. She gave off the eerie feeling of a bitter old lady living alone in her big house with her 40 cats.

"Did you ask for the manager?"

"Oh, yeah…I wanted to talk to you about a job applica—"

"We are not hiring." She said quickly.

"Ummm…Heh, This might just be me, but I thought I saw a 'Now Hiring' sign at the front of this place."

"Well, that's just for people with experience." She said flatly.

Brook let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ok. Let me get this straight. We haven't even talked for like what? TWO minutes and you're automatically judging me? You don't even know my friggen name lady!"

"I've been in this business long enough to know that I don't need spoiled over-emotional teenagers like you sitting around wasting my time!"

"By the looks of it you don't have that much time to waist in the first place!" Brooke yelled. She was more than pissed right now. So she was a spoiled overemotional teenager eh? (I'm Canadian lol) 'Well, I'll show her. This old hag doesn't know who she's messing with.'

"I also know that I don't want anyone with such disrespect to their superiors! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to _my_ business." She turned and walked off.

Nathan sighed and shook his head. "Common Brooke. We'll try again tomorrow." he turned to walk away, pulling Brooke along, but she stayed in her spot.

"Are you kidding me?" was all she said to him before stomping up to the old woman.

"Brooke No!" he yelled after her but it was too late.

"Listen here _Martha_, I don't know what the hell you're problem is. I'm sorry that you weren't very popular in high school, and that the guy that you were crushing over always rejected you. I'm sorry that you couldn't make the soft ball team or that you never won a single metal in the dance competitions. And I'm terribly sorry that you never found the guy of your dreams or that your kids all left you, leaving you to live alone with your filthy cats. But I came here for a job application, and since your hiring at the moment, I deserve an interview, and I'm not leaving without one!" Brooke yelled this in the woman's face attracting the attention of all the inhabitants of the café. Everybody looked at her in utter shock but she didn't care. It's been a hard, long day and she was tired and hungry. Everything she's ever known was falling apart and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She's lived her whole life in Tree Hill, and it's the only place she's ever felt at home. There was no way she was leaving it behind. So she tries to go out on her own and then this old bitch judges her without a second glance? Uh-uh. She's taken enough of that shit from students at school. There was no way she was going to let this hag do the same.

The old lady looked her over a moment in silence. Her face was expressionless but inwardly she was fighting to suppress a smirk. After another minute of silence, she spoke. "I don't do interviews. I don't necessarily care what the heck you've done with your past life. All I care about is how good you do the job. Come by in two days and we'll see what you can do."

Brooke took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Thank you." The woman nodded and started walking away. "Oh and by the way…" she turned back and looked at her. "I'm Brooke Davis." Brooke smiled her million dollar smile and turned and exited the café, Nathan following close behind.

They sat in silence as the car sped down the highway. Nathan had a hundred questions to ask her, but Brooke seemed to be deep in thought. Nathan shook his head as he remembered the events of the day. Suddenly, the situation seemed a lot funnier than he thought. Out of no where, he started to laugh hysterically getting weird looks from Brooke.

"What's so funny?"

"Did you see the look on her face? She looked mortified." He continued laughing and Brooke started giggling.

"Well the truth hurts."

"How did you know all that stuff anyways?"

Brooke thought for a minute. "Well, I knew she wasn't popular in school because of the way she was dressed. Who wears plad skirts that high anyways? Everyone is rejected by their first crush at one time or another, I knew that she never made the team or won anything because of the way she prided herself on that café. And I figured she was alone without children because of the way she described teenagers as 'over-emotional brats'."

"Who woulda thought that you'd be so observant?" he teased.

"Oh there's a lot you don't know about me boy-toy." She smirked.

"I bet. But seriously…Martha?"

"Shut up! I couldn't think of any other name ok? And besides, she reminded me of Martha Stewart." She defended. Nathan just laughed and she playfully hit him.

Brooke slows down to a stop when she reaches Nathan's apartment. There is music blaring from the stereo and the two are singing—more like screaming along to the lyrics.

_B: Can I make it?_

_N: Damn right._

_B: I' be on the _

_N: Next flight_

_B: Paying Cash!_

_N: First Class!_

_B: Sitting next to Vanna White._

_Nookie: If you wanna go and take a ride with me_

_Wit three women in the fo' with the Gold D's_

_Oh why do I live this way?_

_Hey! Must be the money!_

The two erupted in a fit of laughter after the song was over.

"That was hot!" Brooke said through giggles.

"Oh yeah! We both have quite a voice." He teased.

"Are you kidding me? We sounded like dying hyenas!"

"Hey! Speak for yourself." He shot in mock hurt.

"Like I said, the truth hurts."

Nathan chuckled. "So B, how does it feel to know that you are officially independent of your daddy's pay check?"

Brooke frowned. "I wouldn't really know."

"Why not? If you're worried about your interview, forget it. You got to her once, you could get to her again." He tried to reassure her.

"It's not that Nate. It's just that I still haven't found an apartment and if I don't find one in, I don't know…what? THREE days, I'll either be living as a hobo or forced to go to Cali."

"Brooke, don't worry about it ok? I'll help you find one tomorrow. I promise."

She smiled at him. "Thanks Nate." They shared a smile.

"Welp, this is my stop. I'm gonna go get started on my homework. Mrs. Kendal's being a total bitch this year! 6 hours of homework a night!" he shook his head as he started getting out of the car.

"Nathan…" Nathan whipped around at the quiet sound of Brooke's voice. He was shocked at how uncertain it sounded, almost like a lost little girl.

"Brooke? What's wrong?" he was getting worried by the sad expression on her face.

"I'm…I'm just scared." To his surprise, she started tearing up. "I don't want to leave Nate." Her voice was quavering slightly as she fought to gain control of her tears. "I mean I've lived here all my life. The people of this town are the only one's I've ever known. I can't just go to another city Nate. I mean what about Peyton? I can't just leave her. And the girls in cheerleading? God, what if the new captain doesn't know how to handle them? And what about my parents? It's not like they're going to change. I'm going to be stuck by myself as usual only this time I won't have anywhere to go." She was starting to freak out now. Everything was starting to settle in. She was only 3 days away from leaving everything she's ever known and loved and she still didn't even have an official job yet.

"Shhh…hey, listen." Nathan started in a soft voice. "You won't have to go alright? None of us are going to let you. First thing tomorrow, we'll go out looking for an apartment. Don't worry it'll be alright."

"What if it isn't? I'm not as dumb as I make myself out to be Nathan. I know how long these things can take. And my parents aren't going to let me go homeless even if it was for just a week. They would never risk it on their social status."

Nathan frowned at her last comment. "Look…It'll be alright ok? Don't worry. If it takes too long then you can stay with me for a while."

Brooke's eyes widened in shock. "Are you crazy? Do you know what kind of rumors that will start?"

"Who cares? It's not like it's anything knew. Besides, you won't be there permanently. Just until you find a suitable home for yourself."

Brooke shook her head frantically. "Uh-uh Nate. No way! What about Haley? She's going to get the completely wrong idea."

"Well, you see, Haley isn't here at the moment so she won't really have any idea at all." He said bitterly. "And besides, I'm not asking you to share a bed. I have an extra room that you could take."

"No Nathan. Listen, it's sweet of you to offer. But common! We've just been friends for like what? 3 days? I won't let you chance your marriage for me. What if Haley comes back early? With everything going on between you two I don't think me moving in with you two is gonna help any."

"Oh please Brooke! You're acting like we just met or something! I've known you my entire life. And it's not like you've never slept over at my house before. You were like the little sister I never wanted!" Brooke gave him an 'excuse me?' look. "And I mean that in the most loving way possible." He said quickly. Brooke just laughed. "Look, it was just an offer."

Brooke nodded. "Thanks Nate. But I think I'm just going to look for a separate apartment. It's a lot safer that way."

Nathan sighed. "Alright, but the offer still stands if you change your mind." He said and she smiled. She moved up and gave him a tight hug. "You know I'm here for you if you need me." Brooke was shocked at his words. But she immediately smiled and nodded.

"Alright. So, as much as I hate to break this wonderful Hallmark moment, I really need to get home and sleep." Nathan laughed at her abrupt change of attitude.

"Yeah, Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Brooke smirked. "That soon? You know Nathan, if I didn't know any better I would think that you couldn't get enough of me."

"Oh please I just want to help you so you would stop nagging me already!"

"You keep telling yourself that!" she then quickly drove off without giving him time to respond.

Nathan glared at her as she turned the corner and disappeared. "Same old Brooke." He sighed, and shook his head in amusement. He then turned around and walked into his apartment.


	5. Surprises behind closed doors

**Hey Hey Hey! Remember me? Lolz. Sorry I havn't up dated in sooooo long! But school's being a total bitch! 4 essays, 3 tests, an ISU, 2 projects, a football try out and a soccer tryout all in one! It was horrible! But don't worry! This chappi is EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA LONG! So it counts as three chapters:D so it's all good! The reason why I made this chapter so long is because it is CRUCIAL to the story! nods head yep! Yep! VERY important! It sets off a lot of drama to come! So please please PLEASE review! I hope you enjoy it:D This doesn't have much Nookie I am sorry to say but I wanted to get this stuff out of the way. :D R&R! the '' are thoughts. **

Surprises behind closed doors

"OUCH!"

Brooke awoke with a start to the sound of someone screaming. She shot up to see two strange men carrying her desk out of her room. They were standing half way through the door looking down at something, oblivious to the awoken Brooke.

"You stupid piece o' shit!"

"Stop talking to the desk Ron. It's not its fault you banged your toe."

"Shut up! The damn thing jammed my foot with the door!" the guy who was crouching yelled as he tended to his swollen foot.

The other man sighed. "You've been in this job too long." He mumbled.

Brooke watched the exchange between the two as if they were speaking a foreign language. She tried hard to concentrate through the haziness from just waking up. Finally, getting too irritated with her confusion, she decided to get some answers. "Who the hell are you?"

The two men shot up and looked at her as if they had just noticed her presence. "Sorry Ma'am. Didn' mean te' wake ye." Slowly coming out of her daze, she noticed that the man with the injured toe had a huge accent. 'Sounds Texan.' She thought.

"I knew we should have waited. What were her parents thinking letting us do this when she's sleeping?" the other man shook his head in disappointment.

The mention of her parents caused her to fully awake. With her sense of awareness in check, she noticed that all the furniture in her room was missing leaving it practically bare and empty. "WHAT THE HELL!" she screamed and jumped out of her bed. "Who the hell are you people! What the hell are you doing with my stuff?" she screamed enraged.

The two men raised their hands in defense as they backed away, both too stunned to say anything.

"OMG! I know who you are!" she pointed an accusing finger in their direction. "You're one of those wannabe bandits I heard about on T.V. aren't you?" she shook her head frantically, already convinced of her accusation. "Ohhh no! If you think you could raid a Davis house and get away with it you've got another thing coming!" Without warning, she grabbed her alarm clock and through it at one of the men, followed by a series of solids she found on her last shelf. "Get out!" She threw a picture frame at the injured worker. "You stupid bastards, GET OUT! GET OUT!GET OUT!" She kept throwing little items blindly at the two men as they tried to calm her down.

"Miss—"The man with the Texas accent ducked to avoid being hit by one of her text books. "—Please!" he pleaded with her as he ducked again, this time to avoid being hit by a pair of slippers. "Calm down!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" came a cold voice from the hallway.

Brooke stopped dead as she heard the voice. She was extremely confused now. "Mom?"

Mrs. Davis came striding into the room looking irritated beyond belief. "Brooke, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded taking a look at the state of the room.

"I thought….." but she was too shocked to finish her sentence. At first she had thought that her parent's weren't home and that's how they were being robbed. But if they were home, it wouldn't make any sense. Unless…Brooke's eyes widened in realization and she immediately popped out of her daze. "I could ask _you _the same question!" she snapped.

"Don't take that tone with me!" her mother said sternly and Brooke forced herself to calm down.

"What the heck is going on? Where is all my stuff?"

Mrs. James rolled her eyes in frustration. "Where do you think? We're selling everything last minute before we move." She said simply.

"YOU'RE WHAT!" Brooke yelled outraged. "But that's my stuff! I never said you could—"

"Oh quit you're whining! Knowing your damn father we'll probably end up buying you new things anyways. I don't get why you're so upset. Half of this stuff was old junk anyways."

"Dammit mother! You can't just barge in here and change my whole life like this! How do you even know if I'm moving with you or not!" she snapped. Marry Davis was never one to show respect for other people's property. And if there was one thing that characterized Brooke, it's that she was extremely territorial.

Marry pressed her lips together tightly before speaking in a fake, sweet-forced voice. "Of course you are moving with us dear. Where else would you go?" she shot Brooke a warning glare before turning a forced smile to the observing workers. She laughed lightly trying to make a joke of the situation. "Teenagers! Where they get all this energy to be so dramatic, I will never know!" she shook her head and smiled as the two uncomfortable men seemed to accept her explanation and went back to moving the desk out.

Brooke sighed in defeat as she fell back and sank into her bed. One of the workers

re-entered the room and headed for her small nightstand. She immediately shot up on instinct and glared at him. "Don't you dare!" The man recoiled under her death glare and backed out quickly. Brooke let out a soft sob as she plopped back to bed.

_Today is gonna be the day_

_That they're gonna throw it back to you_

_By now you should've somehow_

_Realised what you gotta do_

_I don't believe that anybody_

_Feels the way I do about you now_

_Backbeat the word is on the street_

_That the fire in your heart is out_

_I'm sure you've heard it all before_

_But you never really had a doubt_

_I don't believe that anybody feels_

_The way I do about you now_

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding_

_And all the lights that lead us there are blinding_

_There are many things that I would_

_Like to say to you_

_But I don't know how_

_Because maybe_

_You're gonna be the one that saves me?_

_And after all_

_You're my wonde--_SMACK_-_

Peyton groaned as she rolled over and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. Rolling back to her spot, she went to snuggle up to the person on the other side of the bed. She jerked up when she found no one there. She looked around frantically, still drowsy from sleep.

"Jake?" when no answer came, she got up off the bed and dashed out of the room. She had had a nightmare that had kept her awake for over half the night. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she rushed down the stairs.

DREAM

A little girl is walking down a worn out hallway. Dust and cobwebs are everywhere giving it the feeling of it being inhabited for years.

"Mommy?" the little girl cries as she walks around the abandoned house. She turns a corner only to arrive to a dead end. On the wall there's a picture of the little girl wearing a wide smile with a man and a woman on either side. The man was tall and had smooth black hair combed back neatly. The woman was like a replica of the little girl. With the same flock of curly blond hair and the same piercing green eyes (they are green right?). The little girl cautiously walks towards the picture. Suddenly, the wall begins to shake and the picture falls with a defining crash. A close up of the frame shows the cracked glass with the picture of the girl and her dad looking grim. But one thing was different. The blonde woman wasn't there. Long, slim fingers reach down and pick up the broken photograph. A teenage Peyton looks sadly at it as she runs her fingers down the area where the woman once stood. A stray tear falls down her cheek onto the broken picture. Suddenly, it changes to one of her, Jake and Jenny. They were all standing smiling with Jake placing a protective arm around Peyton who was holding Jenny. Peyton's smile turns to a shocked gasp as she suddenly drops the picture. Slowly but surely, Jake and Jenny fade away leaving Peyton standing alone once again.

END DREAM

Peyton runs down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Jake!" she called out again anxiously.

"In here!"

Peyton let out a relieved breath as she entered the kitchen to see Jake feeding Jenny. "Hey. How long have you been up?"

"About 20 minutes." He smiled at her before turning back to feeding Jenny. The baby girl turned away as her dad tried to feed her mashed peas. Peyton laughed lightly.

"Here. I'll take her."

Jake let her take his spot as he went to make breakfast for them. "So…what'll it be? Bacon and eggs or French toast?"

"I think I'll just have some cereal thanks….oopsy." she cooed as Jenny flapped the spoon full of food away causing the peas to scatter all over her.

"French toast it is." Peyton glared at Jake who winked back before turning around to cook. She just chuckled and shook her head. Her eyes softened as she watched the scene around her. They weren't going anywhere.

8

Lucas walks down the street lost in his own thoughts. He hadn't been able to get much sleep since the end of school the other day, the image of _them_ going into the car and driving away still fresh in his mind. He cursed under his breath in frustration. A few weeks ago they were practically mortal enemies and now they're the best of friends? Plus, the fact that Lucas knew that Nathan was out to get revenge on Haley for leaving didn't help either. He was pulled out of his thoughts when someone jumped on his back.

"BROODY!" he whipped around and saw a giggling Brooke clinging on to his back.

"Cheery wh—" he struggled to regain his balance. "What are you doing?" he laughed.

"Well, I was out all day looking for a new apartment and now my feet are killing me and I forgot where I parked my car. So you can imagine how happy I was when a certain blond walked by." She babbled, flashing her million dollar dimples.

"I can imagine…" he smirked. "So….how was your home hunting?"

"Annoying, irritating, tiring…pointless. I swear I don't get why people have to be so damn hard about it! Like, what the hell does my health insurance have to do with anything? I need a place to stay, you need the money. Just leave it at that!" she said flinging up her arms in irritation. Unfortunately, she had forgotten her place on Lucas' back and fell backwards bringing Lucas down with her. "OWWW!" she screamed as she tended to her bruised back.

Lucas looked up at her frantically. "Brooke! Are you ok?"

"I will be once you get off of me!" she snapped.

Lucas immediately stopped. With all the confusion he hadn't realized the awkward position they were in. Brooke was lying on the ground hands still clinging to the seam of his shirt while he was on top of her with a hand supporting his weight up and one on her back. He stared down at her as he remembered a similarly embarrassing instance back when they were dating.

_Brooke walks in through her back door, pulling a disheveled looking Lucas along with her. _

"_OMG! Broody I didn't know you had it in you!" Brooke said giggling._

"_I didn't know I had it in me either." He was still bewildered at what he had done. _

_Flashback_

"_Name?" the waiter asked dully. _

"_Donavan McFarley." Brooke said sweetly, standing in front of a nervous looking Lucas. The two were out on a date when they got bored and Brooke of course had to come up with this brilliant idea of interrupting a fancy restaurant. _

_The waiter took a moment to look for the name before he turned to the pair and studied them skeptically. _

"_Umm…is that what you choose to wear, sir?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes in disgust over Lucas' attire. Lucas, who still refused to look the waiter in the eyes, was wearing a pair of tattered blue jeans under a red shirt. Brooke was wearing her usual 'over the top' casual wear which consisted of a pair of extremely low cut hip huggers matched perfectly with a green tank top, topped off with her favorite jean jacket. _

"_Sir?" he asked again when Luke didn't answer._

"_Forgive my friend here. I decided to make this a surprise for him and forgot to tell him to dress formally." Brooke said, smiling sheepishly. _

_The waiter suppressed an urge to roll his eyes and sighed. "Very well. Wait one moment please." The waiter turned and disappeared in the back._

_Brooke whipped around to Lucas. "Broody! You're killing me here!" she whined._

"_I'm killing you? Brooke this is crazy!" he whispered frantically._

"_Oh common Lucas! Lighten up! You know I love your serious broodiness sometimes but would you live a little?"_

"_Hey! I live!" he shot offensively._

"_Sure you do….." she cast a longing look at the restaurant. "Well if you really don't wanna do it…" she started walking towards the door, pouting._

_One look at her devastated face and he knew she had him. Closing his eyes and quickly reaching a decision, he pulled her back. "Wait! Wait, wait wait wait wait…." He took a deep breath. "Fine. We'll do it. But—" Brooke screeched and he chuckled. "—But. I'm NOT singing!"_

_Brooke's face fell. "What! Bu—"_

"_No Brooke!"_

"_Lucas…." She whined._

"_Bro—"_

"_Excuse me sir?" the two turned and saw that the waiter had come back carrying a checkered bundle in his arm._

"_What is THAT!" Lucas asked disgusted._

"_It's your tux, sir." _

_Lucas' eyes widened as he stared at the yellow, green and orange checkered tux. He shook his head frantically while Brooke tried to stifle a giggle. "NO WAY AM I WEARING THAT!" _

"_No one enters without a tux, sir." The waiter stated impatiently._

_The couple's eyes widened and Brooke cast Lucas a pleading look. Lucas still shook his head._

"_Brooke…NO!"_

"_Lucas please! You're already not gonna sing!" she whined. "Please? Please Lucas? Please, please, please, please, pleeeesssee!" Lucas sighed and looked a the tux, then back at Brooke's pouting face. He sighed. "Give me the tux." Brooke's eyes lit up and she smiled widely, clapping her hands in excitement._

_After Lucas put on the tux, the waiter showed them to their table and left. _

_A giddy Brooke plopped down on her seat with a goofy smile on her face. "Isn't this great?" she giggled._

"_Brooke…you're such a child!" he laughed._

"_Oh! You know you like it!"_

"_That I can't deny." She smiled and bent in for a kiss._

"_Hem…Excuse me, miss?"_

_Brooke looked up to see a young looking waiter waiting patiently at their table. "Would you please give me some sort of identification so we could officially mark you present?"_

"_Umm…why?"_

"_It's standard procedure."_

_Lucas sighed. They were caught. He was about to get up when he heard Brooke talk. "Hang on a minute" She looked into her purse and fished for something. "Oh No!" she looked up worriedly at Lucas. "Honey, have you seen my card?"_

_Lucas looked at her like she was crazy but decided to play along. "Uhh..no?"_

_Brooke looked worried and went back into her purse. "Is there a problem, Miss?"_

"_I—I can't find it…"_

"_Well I'm sorry Ma'am but you can't stay he—" he was cut off by the sound of soft sobbing. Looking down, he saw that Brooke was tearing up. _

_Lucas noticed this too and got worried. "Cheery? Cheery what's wrong?"_

"_I'm sorry." She whispered. _

"_For what?"_

"_Is there something I can do?" the waiter asked worriedly. _

_Brooke shook her head. "No. It's just that, I tried to do something special for our 5 month anniversary and look how horrible it turned out!" Lucas looked at her, confused. '5 months? But we've only been going out for—ohhhh…' he thought as it finally dawned on him. _

"_I mean, first they almost didn't let us in because I forgot to tell you to dress up—" she started again. "And now they're gonna get us kicked out because of my stupidity! I'm such a horrible girlfriend!" she wailed._

_The waiter's heart sank. "Oh. No. No. I never said we were gonna kick you out!" he said reassuringly. Brooke sniffled. "I was just following procedure, that's all. Now that that's over with, what would you like to order?" Brooke flashed him her dazzling smile as she ordered for both of them. After she was finished, she turned to Lucas to see him staring at her._

"_What?"_

"_You're horrible you know that?"_

"_Common Luke! Did you really wanna get kicked out after all we went through to get in here?"_

"_Oh NO! We wouldn't want that!" he said sarcastically. "And what were you thinking ordering all that food! Can you even afford all that?"_

"_Probably. But I won't have to. Dear old Donavan McFarley will. He was one of my daddy's partners. He's actually supposed to be here tonight."_

"_Brooke! That's stealing!" _

"_Actually Mr. goody-goody, it isn't. See, this guy had a deal with my dad a while back that didn't go so well. He backed out of it leaving my dad to take all the blame. Cost my daddy thousands. So I'm simply taking some of it back." She stated simply._

"_You scare the shit out of me sometime, you know that?" she rolled her eyes._

"_Well, that's why I got you so whipped!"_

"_HEY!" she giggled._

_A few minutes later, the food arrived and the two dug in. While they were eating, a man in a tux came on stage and started a stand up comedy. The two tried watching him but got bored quickly because they never got any of his jokes._

"_And now ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to call up one of the most respected men in the financial business. Owning one of the best hotel chains in the country, everybody, please welcome, Mr. Donavan McFarley" Lucas and Brooke chocked on their food as the restaurant erupted in applause._

"_Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit! Brooke what do we do?"_

"_Ummm….." But Brooke was too shocked to answer. "I don't know…maybe if you don't go up they'll think we left." Suddenly, a light shone on their table, attracting everyone to them. "Or not…."_

"_Mr. McFarley?" the host asked. _

"_Brooke!"_

"_I don't know…just…..go up there!"_

"_WHAT?"_

"_Well we can't just sit here! Just…go up! Say thank you or something! Hurry!"_

_She pushed Lucas up and he started walking towards the stage. When he stood in front of the crowed, he gulped hard. "Umm…well….I don't know what to say. Umm….thank you. I've been in this business for a while now. My father passed it on to me when I was younger—"_

"_He's not Donavan McFarley!" there was a gasp in the audience as the receptionist walked up. _

"_What are you talking about?" the host asked._

"_I'm Mr. McFarley!" a deep voice echoed as an overweight, bald man came striding down the restaurant. Brooke took one look at him and gasped._

"_Shit! Lucas run!" she yelled as she ran passed him, pulling him along by his arm. They were chased into the kitchen where they had to move around many busy chefs. When they got out, Lucas' tux got stuck in an unscrewed nail. He twisted and got it off, before continuing to run. They kept going before turning into an old alley way. Brooke pushed Lucas against a hidden opening and pressed her body against his for cover. "Shhh….." she whispered._

_After a few moments in complete silence, they heard people getting closer._

"_Where'd they go?" a harsh voice asked. _

"_I'm not sure…I could've sworn they came this way." A man with a softer voice explained. There was a frustrated sigh and then a loud mumbling that sounded a lot like 'Damn teens'. "Forget it. Let's get back."_

"_After a few minutes, Brooke chanced a glance to see if they were still there. When she found the coast clear, she got out and burst out laughing. Lucas, who was still shocked at the events, just stared at her. _

_End Flashback_

"_I can't believe you got me to do that!" _

"_Oh please! Those rich snobs all had it coming!" she said, laughing harder and tugging on his shirt pulling him with her as she fell back on the bed._

"_You will be the death of me, you know that?" he said as he went down to kiss her._

"_Only when I choose to be." She smiled suggestively._

"_Oh really?" he chuckled as he went down for another kiss, this time holding it longer. The kiss deepened as they got caught up in each other's rhythm. Lucas finally broke the kiss and moved down to her neck. Brooke giggled and moaned with pleasure as he massaged it with kisses. _

"_Lucas…"_

"_Lucas…." _

"Lucas…."

"Lucas?"

"LUCAS!"

"Huh? Lucas was jerked out of his day dream by the shrilling sound of Brooke's scream.

"I SAID GET OFF ME!"

Lucas' eyes widened in embarrassment. He looked up frantically to see a crowd had formed around the two. Cursing slightly, he immediately got off and helped her up.

"Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night." He mumbled.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Yeah I bet! Geeze! You're brooding worse than when we first went out!"

"Hey! You're the one who pulled me down with you!" he said defensively.

"Hate to break it to you handsome, but it wasn't intentional." She teased playfully. Lucas just rolled his eyes at her.

"You ok?" he asked when they resumed walking.

"You mean besides the fact that I was literally crushed by your full weight?" he rolled his eyes again earning one of her cute giggles. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. Now, about looking for your apartment. Did you find one that you liked?"

"NO!" she practically yelled. "They were all too expensive! Even though they were all half the size of our attic! And the ones that I could afford were either way too dusty, old, moldy, smelly, or were beside 30 year old whales sitting on their asses and yelling at the T.V. constantly! I can't live under those conditions!" she spat out irritated. Great, so now she was broke, didn't have any furniture and she was homeless.

"Brooke…you can't just expect everything to be perfect right away! You have to start off from the beginning. You won't get anywhere being so picky."

"I AM NOT PICKY! I just know quality that's all. And besides I did find a good place. It was sanitary, cozy, and well priced."

"And why didn't you take it?"

Brooke mumbled something but it was too quiet for Lucas to catch.

"Huh?"

"I uhh….I sorta knocked out the landlord…." She said sheepishly.

"YOU WHAT?" he yelled before he burst out laughing. "H-How?"

"I sorta dropped kicked him. But that stupid bastard deserved it!" she seethed.

"Lemme guess. He hit on you?"

"NO! He-he….he groped me!"

Lucas' eyes widened. "HE WHAT?"

Brooke looked away embarrassed. 'God, I hate men!'

"Brooke…I'm sorry." He knew that although she kept a strong façade, she couldn't stand it when guys touched her as if she was some low down whore looking around for free pleasure. He brought her closer to him and put his arms around her, letting her rest against his chest.

"It's ok…" she said quietly. "You know, it's not really there fault. I AM too hot to handle." She smirked up at him and he chuckled.

"So what are you going to do? Move back in with Peyton?"

Brooke's brows furrowed. "I guess…or I could take Nate's offer and move in with him."

It took a while before what she had said registered to Luke. "Yeah—wait, WHAT?"

Brooke jumped back in surprise to his reaction. "Don't worry about it! Just until Haley comes back. By then I probably will have found a place to crash."

"Wait a minute…Can't you borrow the money from someone? What about Felix?"

Brooke looked down. "Umm…Felix doesn't know."

"What?"

"Well, no offence Broody but I wouldn't have told you either if I wasn't so upset." Lucas looked at her for a moment. He knew that Brooke was good at hiding her true feelings from people. He just never realized she could do it so well. It just made him wonder how much more he didn't know about her.

"Well, I suggest you tell him. Because he is rich….and your boyfriend." He didn't get it. Why was he defending FELIX?

Brooke glared at him. "Chee…I never realized how close you two have gotten. Are you saying that I should trust him?"

"Are you saying that you don't?"

"I don't trust anybody Lucas." She stated matter of factly. "Not entirely anyway."

Lucas sighed. "Just…do it for you then? Please?"

Brooke looked at him suspiciously. Why was he trying so hard? She decided to let it go for another time. Her legs were killing her and it was getting dark. "Ok fine. Look, I'll talk to him. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up crashing at his place instead."

Lucas shut his eyes trying to get the image of Felix having full access to Brooke 24/7 out of his mind. He sighed. He had walked right into that one.

88

"Jake! I got take out!" Peyton yelled as she walked in through the front door. She was surprised to enter a dimly lit, quiet house. She walked in further to see a figure slouched over on the couch.

"Jake?" she asked lightly.

A worry stricken Jake looked up from his spot on the couch. "Peyton….hi" his voice was hoarse and he spoke in a quiet whisper.

Peyton, now worried ran over to his side. "Jake what's wrong?" she glanced around the dark room anxiously. "Where's Jenny?"

Jake looked up at her with devastated eyes and for the first time Peyton realized that they were red from crying.

"Sh—she took her…I—"

Peyton's eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief. Jake didn't need to tell her who he was talking about. There was only one bitch who was after his daughter. Nikki. "N-No! She couldn't! They wouldn't let her do that. H-How?"

"She filed an appeal a few month's ago and they let her take Jenny on account of kidnapping." He laughed bitterly. "Morons! How could I kidnap her when I've had her all along!"

"Wait…this doesn't make any sense! She can't just take her! God dammit doesn't her abandoning her at birth count for ANYTHING?"

"Shhh….Peyton come here." He pulled the now hysterical Peyton down to the couch and held her tight.

"Jake…" she chocked out through sobs. "What are we gonna do?"

"Jake closed his eyes and tightened his hold on her. He only wished he knew.

"KNOCK KNOCK

Nathan looked up from his game when he heard rapped knocking on the door. Sighing, he got up and walked over to it.

Knock Knock Knock!

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming. Friggen bastards." He mumbled under his breath. "Luke?"

Lucas walked passed him without even a second glance as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Well gee. Hey Nate. How are you doing? Oh I'm fine Luke. Thanks For asking. Please. Why don't you come in?" Nathan retorted sarcastically as he closed the door. He turned around to face a very pissed off Lucas.

"What's up man?"

"What do you think?"

"Uhh…Dan finally kick you out?" Lucas glared at him. "Guess not…."

"What's going on with you and Brooke?"

Nathan scoffed. "WHAT!"

"Don't play dumb with me Nathan! I saw you drive away together last night. What's going on between you two!"

"Wowe! Luke! Calm your damn nerves dude." He raised his hands in defense. "Nothing's going on with us."

"Bullshit Nathan! She told me you asked her to move in with you! First you guys hated each other and out of nowhere you're asking her to move in!" Lucas' voice got louder with every word. He wasn't only upset about the idea of them being together, he was also pissed that they would do that to Haley.

"First of all." He started in a stern voice. "I never hated her. Second, I didn't ask her to move in with me. I offered."

"AND THAT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER?" He was beyond pissed right now. Nathan had just confessed to having an affair. Well, really he didn't. But to Luke, it was all the same. "Did you forget a little someone who you're supposedly bound to? Hmm…lets think. HALEY? You know? YOUR WIFE?"

"Dammit why does everybody keep bringing her up? My life doesn't revolve around her anymore! Besides, Haley isn't here is she?"

Lucas gawked at what he just heard. Without warning, he lunged at Nathan and sucker punched him in the jaw. Nathan almost fell backwards but caught his balance and punched Luke back. "What the fuck was that for?"

Lucas, who was recovering from the blow, clenched his jaw in frustration. "Forget the fact that you're using Brooke. But you're cheating on Haley? How could you Nate?"

"I'M NOT CHEATING ON ANYONE!" Nathan snapped. He couldn't take being accused of something like that. Especially after all he's done for her. And it pissed him off how it wasn't this big a deal when _she_ was cheating on him. "And as for me and Brooke, we went job hunting yesterday. She needed help man. She might seem fine about it all but she's completely lost."

Lucas calmed down a little. "oh…."

Nathan rolled his eyes and chuckled bitterly. After all of that all he could say was 'oh?' What it was that made Brooke and Peyton fight over his ass was beyond him.

"But wait…that doesn't explain why you asked h—"

"Offered."

"Right….Offered her to move in…"

"She's gonna kill me if I tell you this."

"I can keep a secret."

"Oh believe me I know! And so does Peyton." He smirked and laughed at the pissed off expression he got from his older brother. "Ok…she just seemed so broken you know? I mean you see Brooke Davis at school without a care in the world, and then you turn around and find this fragile person inside. I guess my protective instincts kicked in…."

Lucas just stared at him for the longest time. It was only a few months ago that he had broken through the hard shell. Just like Nathan, it hurt him to see how fragile she really was. But now he was thrown back out and separated by the same wall again. And this time, he found it nearly impossible to break. He frowned when he saw his little brother start to laugh. "What's so funny?"

Nathan took a moment to calm down. "It's just that….I never knew we'd end up being Drama Queens!" he burst out laughing. "Well you maybe, but me? I've been hanging around Brooke way too long!"

By now, Lucas had cracked a smile. Even in these circumstances, Nathan still managed to crack a joke. He only knew of one other person who could do that. Brooke. His frown returned as the thought crossed his mind.

"Look. You know, Its cool that your looking out for her…but come on man! Moving in? What if Haley comes back?"

"_When _she comes back, Luke." Lucas looked at his brother and for the first time he saw the old Nathan. Not the cocky insensible one, but the one that came out when he first met Haley.

"You really are moving on huh?"

"Naw…just not sulking. I'm repainting that wall tomorrow." He pointed to the opposite wall that was painted pink with a large portrait of a clown on it. Lucas turned to him, eyebrows raised.

"Turns out clowns creep me out too."

Lucas laughed hard at his brother's confession. "Oh man! You're insane!" he shook his head and sighed. "I'm proud of you man."

"Yeah well….I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Brooke." He paused a minute before he continued. "That's also why I'm doing this. I owe her a lot. I was a mess before!"

Lucas smiled slightly, but didn't say anything. The realization that they had become a lot closer had just settled in. The two stayed in silence for a while.

"It's her isn't it?" Lucas looked up to see Nathan studying him carefully."

"Who's what?"

"Brooke….she's the girl we talked about before isn't she?"

Lucas looked away and nodded.

Nathan chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. "Man you're screwed!"

His head shot up. "What?"

"Luke, do you really think after all you put her through before she's gonna take you back?"

"Hey man. It was a mistake alright?"

"Yeah, but it was one that proved her theory about not letting anyone in. You do know that you were the first guy she ever opened to right?"

"Ok! Ok! If you're trying to make me go into depression therapy then it's working!"

Nathan laughed. "Look Luke, I'm just telling you not to get your hopes up. Besides. She's with Felix now. And unfortunately for you, _this one _isn't the cheating type."

Lucas rolled his eyes and punched him playfully. "Shut up man!" they shared a laugh before going back into serious mode again. "Look Nate, about the way I came—"

Nathan raised his hand to silence him. "It's cool. Besides, I think you learned your lesson from that punch I gave you. Shut you up pretty good didn't it?" he smirked.

"Ohh you wish! I just stopped so I wouldn't beat you to a pulp before I got any answers from you!"

"You keep telling yourself that. But we both know who would really win here." He said matter of factly.

"You mean like how we both _knew _who would win that first basketball game?"

Nathan's face fell and Lucas smirked. "Get outta here man!" he ushered him out the door. Lucas laughed and walked out.

"Boyfriend!" a giddy Brooke yelled as she skipped into his room. She was wearing her confident smile but in truth she was nervous as hell. But she wasn't about to let it show.

"Helllloooo! Felix?" Brooke skipped out of his room and went down the stairs. She stopped in her tracks when she bumped into a hard body coming around the corner. She fell back and landed on her ass.

"What the F—oh! Mr. Tagarro!" Brooke yelled surprised when she looked up to see Felix's dad looking down at her.

"What are you doing here Brooke?" he asked in a bored tone. It was no secret that he didn't like Brooke. Ever since the first time Felix brought her over to introduce them, both parents seemed to have this resentment towards her. In fact the first time they ever talked, they tried to convince her to break up with Felix. She never understood why.

"Uhhh…I'm looking for Felix."

"He's not here."

"O-ok…I'll just come back later then." She said as she quickly got up and turned to leave.

"Don't bother." Brooke stopped abruptly and whipped around.

"Excuse Me?"

"Don't bother coming here. Felix went back to California to live with his aunt for a while. He won't be here for another month."

Brooke's eyes widened. "Wh-What? When'd he leave?"

Mr. Taggaro sighed irritated. "This morning. His aunt called and he had to go right away. It's funny. I would have thought he would've called you or something. Guess you're not as important to him as you think."

Brooke rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to get her to dump Felix. "Uh-huh. Well, I'll have to take your word for it. I'll just call him later." She turned around and started again only to be called back, much to her irritation.

"Brooke." She took a deep breath before plastering a fake smile on her face and turning to face him. "Listen to me. Don't get too involved with my son ok?" Brooke was shocked to here the sincerity in his voice.

"But….why?"

"Just take my word for it." He said half mocking her, half serious. With that, he turned and walked away. Brooke, still confused as to what he was talking about, wandered away to her—soon to be someone else's---house.

Opening the door slightly, muffled yelling and screaming could faintly be heard from inside. She quickly stepped in and shut the door behind her so that her parent's screeching voices wouldn't be heard outside. Quietly and unnoticed, she started climbing the stairs to her room….

Peyton and Jake sat on the couch in the dark, both staring at the cold pizza that lay before them.

"You should eat something, Peyton." He said quietly breaking the silence that had engulfed them for the past hour.

"So should you." she said not bothering to look up. She just continued staring, lost in her own thoughts.

Jake sighed. "Look, sitting here and sulking won't help anyone. We need to work on how we're going to get her back."

Peyton looked up at him and nodded. For the first time that night she could really see all the fear and worry in his eyes She cursed herself mentally at being so weak and emotional when he was obviously hurting even more. "Yeah. Until then though, we should get some sleep. We need to look better than that wanna-be-Barbie when we go to court." She joked hoping to light up the mood. She smiled, satisfied when she got a small chuckle out of him. "I'm gonna go take a shower ok?"

He nodded. "Alright." Peyton kissed him and got up to go to her room. She turned back when she noticed he wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?" she asked softly.

"In a minute." Peyton nodded and continued up the stairs.

Jake sat there in silence for what seemed like ages before he was jerked back to reality by the sound of the door bell. He tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing. Groaning, he got up and opened it. His eyes immediately went wide when he saw who was at the other side.

"Nikki!"

Peyton got out of the shower and dried herself up. Putting on a pair of silk pajamas, and tying her hair up in a loose bun, she went outside, intent on getting some sleep. Much to her disappointment, she found her bed still empty as she entered her room. Sighing, she quickly changed her mind about sleeping and went downstairs to talk.

"Jake. I thought you said you wer—"

Peyton stood stalk still when she saw Nikki holding a sleeping Jenny in her arms, sitting down beside Jake.

"What the hell are you doing here bitch!" she yelled lunging towards her only to be stopped by Jake.

"Peyton….." he said quietly as she tried to struggle free.

"Wh-what is she doing here Jake? And why the hell do you have Jenny? Get your skanky paws off of her!"

Jake was about to explain when Nikki cut in. "First of all, she is _my _daughter. And I'm here to discuss custody with Jake."

"What?"

"Jenny needs a father. And there are a lot of stuff I don't know about her than only Jake knows."

"So what? You're saying you're just gonna giver her back to him? Just like that?" she asked incredulously, but hope was evident in her voice.

Nikki laughed. "Hardly…." Suddenly, a sickening, satisfactory smile creeped up on her face. "Would you like to tell her Jakie or should I do the honors?"

Jake gritted his teeth as he glared at Nikki.

"Jake? What is she talking about?" Peyton's pleading voice brought his attention back to her. The scared and lost look on her face was enough to rip his heart in two. A devastated look crossed his face. "I—I'm moving in with Nikki."

Peyton's eyes widened in disbelieve. "Wh-What! N-No! y-y-you can't!" she stammered, as she tried to fight the tears threatening to fall. The salty taste of tears in her mouth told her she had lost the battle.

"Uhhh….unless you two are married hunnie, he can. This is what's best for Jenny. She needs her father and her mother. And as much as you'd like to think so hunnie, it ain't you. This way everyone's happy….."

"She needed you the first year of her life as well but you didn't seem to care much then!" Peyton seethed through clenched teeth. She couldn't believe what was happening. Her whole world was being ripped away from her and she couldn't do anything about it. Just like in her dream……..

"Listen you stupid bit—"

"Nikki! Dammit just SHUT UP!" Jake stepped in and put both hands on Peyton's shoulders. "Look….Peyton, I'm sorry." His heart sank as he saw the flood of tears fall down her cheeks. "I just….i can't lose her." He bend down and kissed her forehead. "I love you." he whispered so a certain abandoning whore couldn't hear him. With one last look at the broken girl, he turned and followed Nikki out the door. Peyton just stood there, staring after them. She was left alone, once again.

Brooke sat on her bed reading an old issue of Teen Magazine. After reading over all of last year's gossip, she got bored and put it down. Sighing, she got up and walked around her room. She stopped in front of her closet and scowled. Her parents had been able to sell everything she owned except 3 pairs of old jeans and a few tang-tops. Groaning, she slammed the door shut and wnet back to bed. Lying on her side, she started at the now empty corner that once inhabited her favorite doll house. No matter how hard she tried and how much she pleaded, she hadn't been able to stop her parents from selling it. Her eyes darkened as a large amount of hatred filled up inside of her. It was the only thing that she had left from her childhood….when life was so much simpler….

CRASH

Her thoughts were interrupted by a defining crash that came from downstairs. Brooke hardly flinched though. It's been that way ever since her parents came back. 'There goes another china piece.' She thought miserably as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. There was another loud crash this time making Brooke feel slightly alarmed.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!"

Brooke's head shot up. Her parents' screaming was usually loud enough for her to hear it, but this time she was almost sure that the neighbors had overheard.

"I'M THE BITCH? YOU GOD DAMN , DRUKEN BASTARD! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!"

"THAT'LL be NOTHING ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH YOU!" he yelled before another defining crash was heard.

Panicking, Brooke leaped out of her bed and sprinted down the stairs. "MOM!"

She gasped in horror as she reached the bottom of the steps. There were pieces of broken glass lying everywhere and furniture thrown around, upside down. Fighting back the tears that were threatening to show, she cautiously made her way to the living room where she had just heard her mother sob.

"Mom?" she whispered quietly. When she entered the living room, she saw her father hunched over the whine collection, half empty glass in his hand, and her mother rocking quietly in the corner clutching a dangerously bleeding hand. Without a second thought, Brooke rushed over to her mother to help close the cut.

"Here mom let me---"

"Get the fuck away from me!" her mother screeched as she violently pushed her daughter away. "It's your fault we're like this!" she cried out, as Brooke's eyes widened in shock.

"What? How is this my fault!" Brooke knew her parents were both extremely intoxicated. She had to be careful and play it out so that she could eventually help them get to bed.

"If you hadn't been such a spoiled little bitch we wouldn't have spent so much on you! Then we would have had some money to at least keep the house. Your bastard of a father kept babying you your whole life! And THIS is how you repay us? By deciding to stay in this god forsaken town alone!"

With those words, her father's head shot up. "What?"

"Oh didn't you hear? Our dear old, selfish daughter wants to stay here by herself, while we go to California and work our ass off and provide for her like we always did!"

Joey Davis stared menacingly at his shaking daughter. "Is this true Brooke!" he said in a dangerously calm voice that sent chills down her spine.

"Of course it is! And are you surprised? She's never really gave a damn about us. Do you have any idea how this is going to look to the other families? Huh? We're going to be the laughing stock of California!"

"It's not like it would be any different." Brooke started, shaking uncontrollably. "You and dad are never home anyways. I'm sure you could come up with something to hide the fact that your paternal skills are a shred away from being non existent!"

Marry rolled her eyes. "Don't even try and put the blame on me! You never gave a damn about us! Why should we give one about you!"

Brooke's eyes began to water but she still would not let the tears fall. She turned to her father, for help but he was turned around pouring whine out of a flask. "D-Daddy?" she tried softly.

"Get out of my face, Brooke." He said quietly, with a touch of regret in his voice.

Brooke nodded, and slowly turned around, walking back up the stairs to her room. Entering her room quietly, she slowly shut the door behind her, before sinking down on it, finally letting the tears fall. After a few minutes of sobbing, she looked up through the remaining tears at her empty room. Once again the feeling of loss washed over her, and she quickly reached a decision. Quickly rubbing the last of her tears, she pushed herself up and dashed towards her closet pulling a small hand bag out. Setting it on her bed, she turned around and started pulling out all her remaining clothes.

Peyton sat on her bed, completely entranced by her sketching. Starting to shade in the background, the events of the evening ran through her mind. Without noticing, she began to press harder, until she ripped the paper in too. She gave a frustrated yell before she hurled her sketch book at a shelf. After calming herself down, she slowly got up and went over to get it. She froze when she saw what was beside it. There, lying on the ground, was a pink teddy bear. Peyton slowly walked over to it and picked it up. It had been Jenny's favourite toy, and she and Jake had bought it together when he came back from Seattle (is that where he went? I know it's not savannah but I don't member what it was). Suddenly, a wave of sadness engulfed her, and she burst into tears.

Lucas was sitting on his bed, reading a book when he heard a hard tapping at his front door. Sighing, he got up and went to go get it.

_I'm all alone_

_No one was sent to get me_

_I'm all alone_

_No one was left here_

_But I'm fine!_

_No one was left here_

_But I'm fine!_

_No one was left here……….._

Nathan was listening to music while repainting his wall. He had been so into the music in the background that he didn't hear the harsh knocking on his door until after a few minutes. He checked his watch and frowned, who would be coming over this late? His heart beat started to rise as he thought of who it could be…………….

Lucas opened the door to a hysterical looking Peyton. Her eyes were blood shot from crying so much and her hair was shriveled up all around her.

"Peyton?" he asked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"H-He left, Luke. Jake…he left again. And they took Jenny too. I-I don't know what to do." She suddenly burst out in tears again as he went over and embraced her in a tight hug.

Nathan practically ran to the door in his excitement.

"Hal—Brooke!" he was a both surprised and a little disappointed at who the guest turned out to be, but when he got one look at her broken face, he immediately grew worried. "Brooke?" he asked anxiously.

"I-I really don't wanna go home." She whispered. She had her arms wrapped protectively around her and her feet were positioned so her one of her legs were pointing to the opposite side, as if she was contemplating running away.

Nathan immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in. "Shhhh…Brooke. It's gonna be ok." He whispered encouragingly. "Come inside." Without another word, the two entered the apartment, Nathan closing the door behind them.

**Liked it? Hate it?...LOVED it? Lolz. Please please PLEASE give me some feed back! Lots of brucasness in there as well. :D I won't have many chapters that have that much of them but I just decided to throw that in. Just so you know, this will, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES what SO EVER end up a leyton. Nookie, maybe. But NOT leyton! Sorry I really really REALLY can't stand this couple. No offence to any shippers:D But they will have interaction in this story. I don't mind them much as friends. Anyways, like I said review! Next chapter lots more NOOKIE:D THankis! Buh-bye! **


	6. Painted Truths and Highschool Rumors

**HEY GUYS! Remember me? No? I don't blame you. lolz I know, I know. I haven't up dated since…well a long time. But the only real excuse I have is that schools being a bitch. Lolz and I'm not that bright so it takes me a while to do everything that takes smart people to do in like 10 minutes! Lolz anyways, but SUMMER IS HERE! Unfortunatley I have summer school heh heh but it's reach ahead so I don't think it'll be that much work. Anywho. I have the next 4 chapters ready:D I worked really hard on it these last few days. Oh and I'm FINALLY up dating my other fic. Plus I'm starting 2 new ones. Lolz. How do you think I'll do? Anyways, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! You KNOW I love them! Seriously, if I don't get reviews its like my mind draws a complete blank and I can't think of what to write! So you guys better keep it up! Or else I'm just goin got have to stop. And we don't want that now do we? shakes head seriously lolz Anyways, since this time the review were so amazing, I decided to personally reply to them. They're at the bottom.  Anyways. I'm kinda nervous about this chapter cuz it's right after my last chapter which apearantly I did really good on. SO…bear with me. Lolz. Thanks again! AND PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! **

Nathan was jerked awake by the constant knocking coming from his door. Groaning, he slowly got off the couch and went to open it.

"What do you want, man?"

"Good morning to you too, Nate." Lucas replied sarcastically walking passed him and into the apartment. Nathan scowled at his older brother before closing the door.

"So are you going to tell me why you're here or am I going to have to guess?"

"What? Can't a guy just want to hang out with his little bro?"

"Not this little bro." Lucas rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Fine…I came to get some advice…"

"Say wut?" Nathan asked, shocked.

"I said I need some advice."

"Can I hear it one more time?"

"Nathan! Just—"

"Imagine! Lucas Scott coming to see ME for advice! The world really has gone crazy! I never thought I'd see---"

"Alright Nathan I get it!" Nathan frowned.

"Can't you just give me this one ounce of glory?"

"No."

"Then can I at least hear you say it one more time?"

"Nathan…"

"Lucas."

He sighed. "I need some advice…" Nathan's face broke into a huge smile. "You freak me out some times. You know that, dude?"

Nathan chuckled. "Ok. Ok. Sorry."

Lucas shook his head. "Brooke really has gotten to you."

Nathan froze at the mention of his friend. Casting an anxious glance at the bedroom door, he replied nervously. "Uhh…yeah. I guess so….so what was it you needed to talk about?"

"Oh. Yeah. Your ex."

Nathan frowned. "You mean Haley?"

"No. Peyton." Nathan sighed. "Last night she came to my house crying and—"

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah…no. Jake left with Nikki last night. Turns out she won in the custody battle. Anyways, she came over to my house late last night so broken an—"

"Wait. What was she doing at your house?" Nathan asked accusingly.

"Uhh…..I don't even kn—" But Nathan wouldn't let him finish.

"I thought you two were over. Please tell me you're not thinking about moving from her to Brooke and back again! And people call _me_ the player!"

"Nathan, no! It's not like that! I swear. I was just as confused as you are! But I couldn't just send her back. Not in the condition she was in." Nathan studied his brother a bit more before calming down.

"Alright. Sorry, it's just…you're not exactly the person to be trusted around her." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Nate." He replied sarcastically. "Look, I thought we were over that. It's not like I offered her to stay. Besides, she left soon after that. Said she just wanted to talk. But that's what I came here for. I have no idea how to deal with her in these situations. Even when we were together and she would always have these…phases…I could never really comfort her."

"And you're asking me…why?"

"Well, you did date her for a while."

"Don't remind me." He said dully. Lucas smirked.

"Common. She couldn't have been that bad."

"She wasn't. _We _were." He said simply.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." he zoned out for a moment, thinking. "So…" he said before having a look around. He looked back up at Nathan, confused. "You slept on the couch?"

"Yeah, well, I was repainting the wall here and I kinda got tired so I just crashed."

"And you just happened to bring your pillow and blanket here as well?"

"Heh. Heh. Funny story actually; You know how Peyton came over to you, yesterday? Well—"

But he was cut off by a muffled groan coming from the bedroom. The boys' heads shot up and Lucas glared at his brother.

"What the hell?"

"Listen, Lucas—"

"And you had the nerve to accuse me of cheating? When you've had some whore in your room all this time?" With that, Lucas jumped off the couch and headed straight for the door, despite his brother's pleadings. He swung the door wide open, and was shocked to see an agitated looking Brooke sleeping on the bed. Lucas took in a sharp breath, before looking back at his brother and storming out.

Nathan sighed, and with one last look at the sleeping Brooke, went after him.

"Listen man, it's not what it looks like—"

But he didn't get a chance to finish. Lucas had turned around and, in an instant, collided his fist with Nathan's jaw.

"Lucas! Just lis—" Again, he couldn't finish because this time, Lucas didn't stop hitting. Finally, he took him by the color and violently shoved him against the railing. Nathan, regaining his composure, charged back at him and thrust him to the ground. He sat on top of him and punched his brother in the face, then the stomach and then pinned his arms to the ground, trying to restrain him from moving.

"Lucas…Dude calm down!"

Lucas took this chance and heaved Nathan off of him, switching their places. "Calm down! You son of a bitch use Brooke to get back at my best friend and you expect me to calm down?" Standing up, Lucas pulled Nathan up off the ground and held him by the collar, bringing his face so that it was mere inches away from his own. In retaliation, Nathan caught his balance and pulled on his brother's collar just as roughly. They were both about to go all out, when a familiar voice caught their attention.

"Nath…an….?" Brooke, who had just woken up because of all the commotion, came out of the apartment to face the two boys about to choke each other. She was too stunned and confused to say anything so she just stood there, gawking at the two.

The boys looked at each other and back at the bewildered Brooke.

"A-And that's how I beat him." He said, quickly releasing his grip on the collar.

Lucas, catching on, did the same. "Uhh…cool man. You really showed him!" unfortunately, he wasn't as convincing. The two boys turned nervously to Brooke who was still staring at them like they each had two heads. Raising perfectly plucked eyebrows and putting her hands up in defense, she said "I don't wanna know." And with a low muttering that sounded suspiciously like "Boys." She turned back and entered the apartment.

The boys waited till she was inside the apartment before letting out a sigh of relief. They stood there in awkward silence and Nathan could tell his brother was frustrated.

"Look, Luk---"

"Don't even start Nathan. I don't need you to fill me up with any more of your bullshit."

Nathan heaved a frustrated sigh. "You know what man? I'm getting sick of this. Nothing happened between us. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"You know what Nathan? I want to believe you, I really do. But see, it's kind of hard to do that when I come over to find her sleeping in your bed!"

"I was on the couch!"

"Whatever." With that, he just cast one last glare at his brother, then turned on his heal and walked away.

Nathan sighed as he watched his brother's retreating figure. 'The guy is way too serious.' He thought, before re-entering the apartment. He entered it to meet a sulking Brooke slouched on the couch, holding on to his pillow.

"Hey." He said softly.

Brooke looked up and smiled. "Hey. Mind telling me what that was about?" she asked motioning to the door.

Nathan shook his head and smiled. "It was nothing. Lucas can just get on your nerves sometimes, you know?" he smiled when he got a small laugh from her. "So…how are you?"

"I've been better." She chuckled slightly swiping a stray tear from her eye. "Look at me I must look like crap. This is the second time we've brooded. I think we might be switching places with Peyton and Luke." She scrunched her nose and frowned at the thought.

"Uhhh…buddy…speak for yourself." Brooke laughed.

"Yeah well even the best fall down, Nathan." She said softly.

"Brooke….you wanna talk about yesterday?" Brooke glanced at him nervously. She suddenly found the furniture of the room very interesting.

A certain multi-colored wall caught her attention. "What the hell is that?"

Nathan frowned at her change of subject, but decided to let it go. Following her gaze, he looked at the half painted wall that stood before them.

"Oh…I was just repainting my wall."

"Pink?" she stated more than asked.

"Uhh….no. I was painting over that." she gave him a weird look. "Ok. Haley doesn't like pink. So I kinda used it on the wall…I was depressed ok?" he added defensively when she burst out laughing.

"Awwweee" she teased pinching his cheek playfully. He pushed her away, embarrassed. Suddenly, Brooke got up and rolled up her sleeves.

"Welp, no point in leaving the job undone… Where's the paint?"

Nathan, surprised at her sudden burst of energy, just pointed to the few cans lying on the floor.

Brooke picked up the brush and started. She looked back when she noticed he wasn't following.

"Are you gonna help me or what?" Nathan rolled his eyes and got up. "So what's the deal with the clown?" she asked as she started making long strokes on the wall.

"Haley hates them." He said dully. Brooke laughed.

"God, you're pathetic!"

"Shut up!" Before he could stop himself, he flicked some paint her way. Brooke gasped and slammed her eyes shut. Paint was splattered all over her face and there were small specks on her hair.

"Maybe next time you'll think before you call Nathan Scott, pathetic!" he said matter-of-factly. Satisfied with his comeback, he turned back to painting. Unfortunately, in doing so, he didn't see Brooke slowly turn her head to him with a look to kill.

WHAM

Before Nathan knew what was happening, Brooke's brush collided hard with his face, smearing paint all over his face.

"BROOKE!"

"Maybe next time you'll think before you splatter paint on Brooke Davis!" she yelled, mocking him. "Dammit Nathan! Do you know how long this is going to---" Before she could finish, Nathan flicked her again with her brush. It took a moment before what he did settled in. "You jerk!" she flicked him right back, and he did the same, and it went on like that for a while before Brooke, finally fed up, reached for the can and spilt it all over Nathan. He stood there too shocked for words. His eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as he gawked at her. Brooke, who was trying to keep up her angry façade, gave up and suddenly burst out laughing at the look on her friend's face. Nathan soon recovered from his shock and glared at her. Turning around, he took the other paint can and aimed for her head. Brooke immediately stopped her laughing and looked up at him mortified.

"Oh NO! Nathan! You wouldn't..." Nathan smirked and nodded evilly. "Don't you dare! NATHAN!" She screamed and quickly raised her arms for protection when the thick paint splashed on her face, trailing down her arms and shoulders. Breathing hard, she glared up at him. It was Nathan's turn to laugh. Not only was she completely covered with white paint, but the look on her face made her look like a constipated ghost.

"You are so dead!" she yelled as she charged at him and pushed them to the ground, Nathan still laughing. He quickly pushed her off and dumping his hands in the can, smudged her with more paint. Laughing, Brooke took her brush and started whipping it around towards him while trying to dodge his attacks. She let out a shriek when he started chasing her with two hands fully loaded. She ducked just in time as he whipped his hand at her, but the paint hit her straight in the face when he let out his second throw. While he was laughing, she charged at him again bringing him down with her. They play wrestled for a while, before finally calming down and getting up, both hollering with laughter. Suddenly, Nathan stopped stalk still and stared ahead of him. Brooke, noticing his sudden change in attitude, followed his gaze and gasped. In all the commotion, they had completely forgotten where they were, and were now sitting in a paint covered living room. White spots were all over the carpet, wall, and couch.

"Haley is gonna kill us!" Brooke whipped around at him, looking terrified.

"Us? What do you mean _us_? This is your house!"

"Hey! You helped in making this mess just as much as I did!"

Brooke shook her head. "Oh no, Scott! No way are you going to drag me into this!"

"And there's no way you're going to walk right out of it! We have to clean this up."

"Again with the _'we' _and _'us'_! How about we just stay with the 'yous'?"

"Fine. Then YOU clean this up."

"What? No way! You started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"I could go on forever you know!" Brooke said warningly.

Nathan sighed. "Fine! I did, but you still have to clean it up."

"And how does that work?"

"You're staying at _my_ house." He stated simply.

"Then maybe I should just leave!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" with that, she got up and walked towards the door. When she got to the door, she stopped and turned back quickly.

"Change you're mind already?"

"No! I'm just going to change that's all."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Brooke walked in his room and slammed the door. Nathan sighed. Rolling his eyes, he got up and slowly approached the door. Knocking gently, he walked in when she didn't protest. He came in and saw her sitting on his bed, fiddling with the edge of the sheets. Pushing the fact that she now covered his sheets with paint to the back of his mind, he walked over and plopped down beside her.

"You're not really gonna leave are you?"

Brooke sighed. "Where else am I supposed to go? I don't have an apartment yet and there is no way I'm going back to my parent's place." She frowned as the memories of the previous night came back to her.

"What happened last night, Brooke?" She looked up at him and sighed. If she was going to be crashing at his place, he at least deserves an explanation.

"Just the usual…only worse." Nathan raised his eyebrows in confusion and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry, they were just yelling and throwing stuff. That was the usual. But this time they were a lot more drunk…and just…some stuff came out that I would've rather not known." Brooke looked away as the tears threatened to fall. She already hated the fact that he saw her crying the night before. She wasn't about to let it happen again.

"Brooke?" came his soft voice and she forced the tears back and looked up to him.

"Sorry. Listen, I just need to crash here for a little while. I promise I'll leave as soon as I get an apartment." Nathan shook his head and smiled.

"It's ok. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Ok…but I'm going to do my share too. I'll pay half the rent and I'll clea—" She looked around, disgusted. "—do the dusting." She scowled and he laughed.

"Do you even know how?"

"How hard can it be? You just wipe away the dust and you're done!" Nathan shook his head, smiling.

"Whatever you say." He got off the bed. "I'll go make us some breakfast." He turned and started walking away.

"Nathan." He turned back. "I'll help clean the paint." He smiled and walked away.

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Brooke pulled to a stop in 'her spot' on the parking lot of Tree Hill high. She cast a revolting look at it before grumbling and reluctantly walking out of her car. She and Nathan had decided to arrive separately to avoid starting rumors. As she walked down the hall, she couldn't help but feel as if she was being watched. Sure enough, as she looked up, everyone around her was staring at her and whispering to their respective groups. Brooke raised her eyebrows and just shrugged it off as she went to her locker and dropped off her books. Taking her World Issues textbook and slamming the door shut, she turned around and saw that everyone was still watching her. "What the hell are you people looking at!" she yelled irritated and a few people jumped and backed away slowly while the others just looked away and pretended nothing happened. Brooke huffed and looked around for someone who might give her some answers. Her face lit up when she saw a familiar face in the distance.

"Lucas!" she yelled as she ran over to him. She was shocked to see the coldness in his eyes when he looked down at her before turning and walking away. Frowning, she started after him only to be called back by another familiar voice.

"Brooke!"

"Nathan." She said flatly still trying to figure out what was wrong with Lucas.

Nathan raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between her and the direction she was looking at.

"Wow. Don't be so happy to see me or anything."

"Hmm?" Brooke looked back at him as if just now realizing his presence. "Oh. Hey you!" she smiled in her usual perkiness and Nathan just gave her a weird look.

"Sometimes I think you're living in your own little world." He said ½ joking, ½ serious.

"Well I wish I was right now. What the hell is going on around here?" she waved her arms around and pointed to a couple of students still watching her.

Nathan sighed. "Well…you know how I'm kinda married?"

Brooke raised her eyebrows and gave him a curious look. "Kinda?"

"Yeah….and you know how you put down Bevin cuz we were flirting?"

"Y…e…s…." She said slowly having a bad feeling where this was going.

"Well…people kinda think we're together." He said quickly.

"WHAT!" she yelled and a few of the near by students looked at her strangely.

"Some idiot found out you were staying over and well, the rumors escalated from there."

"But that's crazy! Can't a guy and a girl just be friends?"

Nathan shrugged, defeated.

The bell rang signaling the beginning of first period. Nathan sighed.

"Common. We can't be late for algebra again. Flemming will kill us." With a frustrated groan, she allowed him to drag her into class.

Nathan and Brooke sat in Algebra class both bored out of their minds. They stared at the teacher from the back of the class each lost in their own thoughts. Brooke broke out of her thoughts and sighed deeply. Why the hell was she taking this class again? It's not like anyone—let alone herself—would ever need it. She looked over to the seat beside her and smiled when she saw Nathan desperately trying to keep his head up. Seeing the teacher was turned facing the chalk board, she took the chance and leaned over.

She got really close with him and had to stifle a giggle when he didn't even notice her advance. 'He's so out of it.' She thought. She went right up to his ear and whispered "Boo"

Nathan jumped slightly at the foreign voice but he literally yelled when he turned to see the familiar face literally only an inch away from his own. The whole class irrupted in laughter and he glared at her as she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Miss Davis." A startled Brooke looked up to the voice of her teacher.

"Yes Mr. Flemming?" she asked as innocently as she could.

"Since you find that you have the time to interrupt my class room, would you like to answer this question?"

Brooke looked the question over before answering with daring calm, "No. No I wouldn't."

There were some giggles across the class as the teacher stared down at her.

"Miss Davis, up here. NOW!" He said more forcefully, the agitation in his voice clearly evident.

Brooke sighed as she got up and headed towards the board. Looking over the question one more time, she hesitantly reached for the chalk and began writing. The rest of the class cast each other grins, some whispering and others shaking there heads in amusement. If one thing was certain, it was that Brooke Davis did not do math. She began to write slowly and the class waited in anticipation as she finished the question. She backed away and the teacher had a look at it. The class immediately irrupted in a fit of laughter when they saw what she had written. She had multiplied the functions correctly, but after the second line she wrote in big letters "Then, a miracle occurs." before writing some random numbers at the bottom.

The teacher shook his head. "Alright, Miss Davis. At least it was better than your last effort." He sighed defeated as she flashed him her dimpled smile and took her seat.

Nathan raised his eyebrows and smirked at her. She just shrugged and they went back to listening to the teacher's droning.

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"LUCAS!"

Luke sighed as the familiar voice called out his name. He had been having a bad day to say the least and he didn't want to make it worse, but he should have known he couldn't ignore her forever. Taking a deep breath, he turned around slowly to see her marching towards him.

"What do you want, Brooke?"

She seemed to be surprised by the agitation in his voice but her confusion quickly turned into anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same question!" he didn't mean to yell, but his anger from that morning still hadn't been released yet and he guessed that she was as good a target as any.

Brooke huffed. "What are you talking about? What did I do?"

"What? You mean besides act like a hypocrite and sleep with a married man? Or maybe you're talking about how you're cheating on your boyfriend after the shit you put me and Peyton through this year!" Brooke's eyes widened. He knew he was hurting her, but he didn't care. He had to deal with this for both himself and Haley…and maybe even Felix? He shook his head at the thought and continued to glare at her.

The shock and hurt that was once evident on her face quickly disappeared and in place of it came a stone face that even he couldn't read. "You believe all those rumors then?" Lucas tried to ignore the deathly calmness in her voice as he stared her down.

"They aren't rumors Brooke. I saw you this morning remember? You walked out like you friggen lived there all your life!"

"So that's what you guys were fighting about this morning?" Lucas nodded.

"How could you do it, Brooke? I mean, I know you and Haley weren't best of friends but you especially should know what it feels like to be betrayed." Brooke stared at him as she tried to fight the tears that were threatening to show.

"I do, Lucas." She said softly. "Which is why you should know I would never do something like that."

He sighed, irritated. "Then what the hell were you doing there? I know that he offered you to stay but it's not like you to just jump at the chance. Especially with someone you claimed to hate only 2 weeks ago!"

"I never said I hated him!" she yelled.

"You might as well have!"

Brooke took a deep breath and regained her posture. "I thought you knew me better than that." she said softly, with a hurt undertone.

He sighed and lowered his voice. "What am I supposed to think, Brooke? You saw him 2 weeks ago. He was a mess. Skipping school, drinking in class, making out with random girls. That was the first time you guys ever had a real interaction. And then that same week you guys are like, attached to the hip. He's not moping anymore and you end up moving in with him. It's not rocket science to figure out what's going on there." Brooke was about to say something but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. "And let's forget about Haley for a second. What about you? You're letting some guy use you to get over a broken heart. You're ending up like you were before. And that bugs me because I know you're better than that Brooke."

Brooke huffed again. Why did he just do that? One minute she was about ready to slap some sense into the guy and then he had to go and say that. "Jackass." She mumbled out loud before she could stop herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing…look Lucas, I was just really upset and—"

"Yeah. I got the memo from Nathan. But you know something? When Peyton came over to my house last night we didn't end up---"

"Wait a minute. Peyton stayed over at your house?" Brooke shot appalled.

Lucas shut his eyes and cursed under his breath as he realized his mistake. "Uhh…yes…wait! No! she—"

"You stupid JACKASS!" Brooke was outraged. She started shoving him around while glaring daggers at him.

"Brooke—just listen." He said trying to stop her advance.

"And you have the nerve to judge me! What about Jake, huh? You know, your only best friend in this damn town? Did you ever think about him!" She kept shoving him until his back hit the wall.

"Brooke…would you just LISTEN!" Brooke took a deep breath but complied. "She didn't stay over alright? She just came over to talk. She was really upset."

Brooke's eyes softened. "Why? What happened?"

He took a deep breath. "Jake left with Nikki last night. She got custody of Jenny."

Brooke's eyes widened. "OMG! Poor Peyton. How is she? Wait…she was upset and you just let her leave! You jerk!" and once again she started shoving him as hard as she could.

"Ow! Brooke! What? You wanted me to offer her to stay to?"

"Well, DUH!" She through her hands up in defeat at how dense he was. "You could have at LEAST stayed with her to make sure she was ok! Or at least call me!"

"I did! But no one picked up!"

Brooke clenched her jaw. She couldn't believe all this was happening. Nathan had lost Haley, she had lost her home, and Peyton lost Jake and Jenny. 'This town seriously needs to work on their Karma.' She thought bitterly before she turned around and walked away.

Lucas, surprised by her sudden actions, went after her. "Where are you going?"

"To Peyton's, Duh!"

"Brooke! We have our final test in World Issues next period!" Brooke stopped and closed her eyes. There was no way she could miss that test. Sighing, she continued to walk away. She would talk to her later.

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Ok….sooooooooo……….good? Bad? I need some help here. I know nothing's been resolved in this chapter but I wanted to get how they feel out there. I was actually gonna make it longer but I decided to cut it in have and use the other part as the next chapter.  more of brooke's wacky scenes next chapter! Lolz Hope you liked it….REVIEW! Luvies

**l-a-c-18**Ok, wow. Lolz thank you so much for your amazing review! You know by all of mine that I LOVE long reviews. It makes a writer feel good that the reader has a lot to say about their work.  OH and you know that I love your story and your writing so the complement you gave me was huge. Lolz. Anyways, I KNOW how much you hate Leyton. Heck, I don't think anyone despises them as much as I do. (no offence to leyton fans) BUT I don't mind their friendship all that much. I mean, in a relationship, they are boring as hell but when they are just friends talking about their lives, it's cool that they could have those things in common, you know? Anyways, I know that you were confused or pissed off that she went to Lucas but the way I see it, Lucas was the one who called Jake in the first place, right? So he's the one who put Jeyton together and they both talked about it in chapter three. So I figured that it would work. Besides, I wanted Peyton to end up with someone other than Brooke so I figured what the hey. Don't worry though. There will be NO LEYTON 'ROMANTIC' interaction WHAT SO EVER! Lolz. I hope that cleared stuff up for you. And I'm glad you liked the brucas. That was the funnest (that's a word right:S) part to right cuz you could totally see Brooke dragging Lucas into those kinds of situations, you know? You're right, I bet they did end up in crazy situation like that all the time. And about Brooke's parents, remember they were drunk. But I definitely see her mother saying that to her. And I know that you wanted Luke/Nate to have a violent fight. I did too but I figured I'd leave it to this chapter since it was a more intense situation. Anyways, that's enough rambling. Lolz. Thank you again for the reviews. I hope to get more soon!

**BRATHAN LOVER: **Hey hun. I know—by your name more than anything else—that you absolutely adore Nookie! And I love them too!  but I'm leaning towards having this a Brucas. I don't know why but I want to show that a girl and a guy can make it through by just being friends. Just like Laley, only much hotter! Lolz. But, like I said it will be mostly Nookie friendship. I love their friendship and I don't want to do anything that'll ruin it and a relationship definitely does that!  But even though it won't be a romantic fic I hope you keep reading for their friendship. But, luckily for you I'm writing two other stories with Nookie. One will be a FORSURE nookie and the other will be a Brucas/Nookie depending on what the viewers want.  so be sure to check it out and vote for your favourite couple. :D Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review!

**Kate: **Thank you!  And don't worry I will be bringing Haley back. It's going to be a while though. But bear with me. With her, comes LOTS of drama!

**Crazy: **OF COURSE this isn't the ending! I would never do that! lolz. There's LOTS more to come. A little more than what you guys can probably handle. I tend to write long stories. Meh. I unno. I guess I just have lots of ideas. Anyways, I'm glad you like it. REVIEW!

**Ashley: **Hey sweetie. Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like this so much! I know from conversations with you on the board that you're both a Brucas and Nookie lover like I am. And I'm glad you liked the brucas.  I'm sorry I haven't UD'd in a long time but I'll try and make it up to you. :D REVIEW! LUVIES! See you on the boards!

**Christine**: Ah. Another favorite review. You have no idea how giddy it makes me when I get your kinds of reviews. It helps me to know that people are actually reading my fic rather than just skimming over it.  Thank you SOOOOOOO MUCH! I am so glad you liked the brucas flash back. And I'm even happier that I made you laugh with Brooke. I could totally see her doing that can't you? I love the girl! Lolz And I'm glad you think I captured Brooke's emotions well over her parents. I have so many ideas about them and I love any story line regarding them. I figure, since the writers don't seem to be interested in doing any s/l with them, might as well take advantage of it ourselves, right? Anyways, and about Lucas/Nathan scene. I totally agree with you. He just acts as if nothing ever happened between them. As if brooke was never hurt and that she would jump into his arms at the chance just because he actually started treating her like a human being again. I love Brucas for the short time they were together. But the rest of the season, I was almost anti them b/c I hated his disregard for her feelings! But we won't go there!  I'm glad you liked the chappi. Hope you like this one too! Luvies!

**roryNdean4ever**YAY! A new reviewer! Hee Hee. I'm glad you like this story. I like their friendship too. Hope you continue to review!


	7. He Said, She Said

"HEY LUCAS!"

Lucas groaned for what had to be the hundredth time that morning. Not only was he still aggravated from his last conversation with Brooke, but he was sure that he had just flunked his test last period. '_"I do, Lucas… which is why you should know I would never do something like that."_ The way her expressive eyes had darkened and her soft voice had quivered kept playing over and over again in his head. She made a point in ignoring him all period and refused to return the stolen glances he gave her. She acted as though she didn't even know him and he couldn't help but let that get to him. He knew he had taken it too far. After she had walked off he had had some time to think over everything and he came to a revelation. He was—no, he IS—a world class jackass. 'No shit Sherlock' he thought bitterly as he slowed to a stop. One thing was for sure though; he definitely did NOT need another encounter with her twin male counter part. Right now it was lunch time and he just wanted to relax and get caught up with some reading but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. Sighing heavily, he made to turn when he was violently flung over to face Nathan.

"Hey man, watch it!"

"No you watch it. What the hell did you say to Brooke!"

"Not this again. Look, I don't have time for this crap. She came to me and I just told her how it is."

"I'll show you how it is!" and without a second thought, he charged at him, pushing him up to the wall. "Look, I really don't know what you're problem is. And frankly, I really don't give a damn. But don't drag Brooke into it!" He seethed. He was beyond pissed right now. He had found a teary Brooke right after 2nd period at her locker. Imagine his surprise when she told him she was packing up?

"_Hey B!" an energetic Nathan yelled as he walked towards his friend. He ignored all the glances people in the hall cast him and embraced her from behind. A confused frown formed on his face when he was met with her puffy, green eyes. "Brooke? What's wrong?"_

"_I think I should move out." She blurted after a minute of silence. Nathan stared at her with a blank expression, watching for any sign that she might be joking. He didn't find any. _

"_Brooke. What are you talking about? You just moved in. Not to mention you have no place to go, no money to buy a place no—"_

"_I got the memo, Nathan, thanks." She retorted. "But listen, with everything that's going on and—I just think we might have rushed into things."_

"_B. Look who you're talking to here. I got married at 17." She chuckled. He had a point. "And you're acting like we're dating or something. Look, if this is about this morning then—"_

"_No. No, it's not that. It's just…." She trailed off and Nathan watched her gaze drift to a group of girls who were peering at them and whispering to each other. _

_He looked back at her and frowned. "That's what's been bugging you? Brooke, since when did you give a damn what people thought of you? We've been fighting off stupid rumors like this since 4th grade." He was shocked that she would let this get to her. She usually didn't give a damn or at least kept up a strong façade just to spite them. _

"_Yeah. But this is different…"_

"_How? They still don't know what they're talking about. It's still just a rumor some loser with no life started to get some attention. It'll die out in a few days. A week tops."_

"_I don't think this one will, Nate." She looked up and met his gaze. She knew she was confusing him. Hell, she was confused herself. She would have never acted like this in public before. But some of what Lucas had said got her thinking, and he was right. Everything did happen to fast and it would look suspicious to the people around them. "Look, those rumors before—no body really believed them. Or at least those who we thought really knew us didn't. But this one—this one's different." He watched her expressive eyes and thought about what she said. _

"_People who knew…Is this about Lucas?" she didn't answer but he knew he was right when she insisted on avoiding his gaze. "Brooke, what did he say to you?" he demanded. He had taken a lot of crap these past few days from Lucas. And that in its self pissed him off. But over the past week he found himself growing increasingly protective over Brooke. To see her so unsure about something because of his dear ol' brother got his blood to boil. _

"_Nothing! Look, Nathan it's not just Lucas ok? What about when Haley comes back, huh? When she walks in on us joking around with paint cans in you're living room like this morning?" the thought of the paint fight that morning made Nathan chuckle lightly, bringing Brooke into a fit of giggles despite herself. "I'm serious!" she hit him playfully._

"_Ok. Ok. Sorry." He took a deep breath and tried to control his laughter. "Continue."_

"_Look. Forget about Haley. What about Felix? He's coming back in only a month. What' s he gonna say when he hears about these rumors? God knows he's not the most understanding of you species we all delusion ourselves into thinking are God's gift to women." She bit out and Nathan laughed heartily._

"_Well, it's good to know where we stand, in your eyes."_

"_Oh. Please, like that's news!" he laughed and shook his head. He didn't really care what she said at that point. He was just glad that she had her 'spunk' and confidence back. "But seriously." She continued. "This rumor won't just hurt us. It'll hurt a lot of people."_

_Nathan sighed and placed two comforting hand on her shoulders while looking her in the eye. "Hey, look, this rumor isn't going to hurt anybody unless we let it. Nothing is going on between us. We know that. And in time, the others will too. They're gonna get a little suspicious if they don't see us—the two horniest students in the school…." He paused and thought a moment. "Well, besides Tim, making out in the middle of the hall—and no…" He started when she was about to interrupt him. "…they won't think it's all an act because we don't seem to be hiding anything right now. Besides, Haley will understand. Like you said, she'll owe me when she gets back." Brooke started to say something but scowled in disgust at the smug and far away look in his eyes._

"_Ok, Nathan! Don't have your sick fantasies with Tutor Wife around me, alright?" He rolled his eyes and she shook her head to clear the mental picture that came up. "Anyways, that's great for you and Tutor Girl and all, but what about me and Felix?"_

"_Felix and—"_

"_DON'T correct me on that, it's seriously creepy." She stopped him before he could finish his sentence landing her another eye roll. _

"_Look. We'll deal with Felix when he gets here. Right now though, let's just concentrate on getting your own apartment so you could get the hell outta my house."_

"_Ha Ha. If I didn't know any better I would say you actually enjoy my staying over at your place." _

"_Oh would you?" he teased._

"_Uh-huh."_

"_You would say that."_

"_Yep. And I wouldn't have a single doubt in my mind." She smiled at him and gave him a small peck on the cheek._

_He raised his eyebrows. "You know, Miss Davis. If you're not careful, people might actually start to think we're together." She rolled her eyes and he chuckled. "Alright, I'll meet you in the cafe in a bit." He turned to leave._

"_Where are you going?" _

"_To set some things straight."_

"What the hell did you say to her?" he demanded again.

Lucas looked around at the prying eyes and sighed. "Alright, look. I'm not trying to fight you here. Let's just talk about this outside." Nathan looked around them and nodded, letting him go and they headed towards the exit.

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Brooke charged down the hall looking more pissed than ever. She was fumbling through her purse, looking for her cell-phone when she bumped into someone.

"Hey watch it, whore!" Brooke stopped everything she was doing and stared at the floor, wide-eyed. No one had ever dared to call her that—at least to her face—before. She snapped her head up to find herself glaring at none other than Bevin.

"What did you say to me?"

"In simple words, I don't ever want lying selfish tramps touching me let alone bumping into me!"

"Well, you won't have to worry about that unless you plan on bumping into a mirror anytime soon." She said in mock-sweetness before she put her hands on her hips and went back to glaring at her. "What the hell crawled up your ass?"

With a pissed off look on her slowly reddening face, Bevin straightened her posture and glared right back. "What's pissing me off is the fact that you walked up in here all righteous and dignified and told _me_ off for hooking up with Nathan when you've been sleazing your way into his bed all this time!"

Brooke raised her eyebrows at her before laughing mockingly. "Righteous? Dignified? Have you been practicing this little speech in the back of your closet, Bevie?"

Bevin plastered a fake smirk on her face and shook her head. "And you can't even deny it. How pathetic." Brooke, who was already frustrated was slowly losing her patience and was about to explode.

"Listen. I don't know who the hell put it into that dense, fake blonde head of yours that you could come and talk to me like that but if you're planning on trying, at least get your facts straight. Nathan and I are _just friends; a_ concept that you wouldn't be familiar with considering your known reputation of being a low down whore!"

"Takes one to know one." Brooke narrowed her eyes at the smirk that was forming on the blonde's lips.

"That may be true but at least I don't walk around acting all innocent and misunderstood. Now I suggest you go and find another corner to work before I find one for you!" She stared straight at her, keeping her face and posture calm and confidant. Bevin glared at her before walking away, posse in toe. Brooke heaved an irritated sigh, and continued to her destination.

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Once they were outside, Nathan immediately turned to glower at his brother. Lucas sighed, and began looking at his surroundings. Just his luck. He had hoped that there would be a cool breeze outside to help keep them calm. But instead the sun's rays were beating down on them hard, making it easier for them to lose their temper.

"Lucas. What did you say to her?"

"Nothing different from what I told you, alright?"

"Really?" he asked bitterly. "Then would you care to tell me why she was crying when I found her?"

"She was crying?" Lucas's heart sank as he stopped and stared at him with concerning eyes. He already felt like shit about the way he talked to her, knowing that he had made her cry just intensified his regret. Nathan flinched slightly when he heard the remorse and concern in the tone of his brother's voice. He was pissed at him yes, but he couldn't help but sympathize with him. He was his brother after all and he understood what it was like to be blinded with jealousy. But the look on Brooke's face when he found her reminded him that Lucas wasn't the victim here.

"Don't flatter yourself. Her eyes were just a little puffy." He stated bitterly, not wanting Lucas to have the satisfaction of knowing that she would care. "Besides, you still haven't answered my question." Lucas, who had dozed off into deep thought, was startled by Nathan's tone. He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts and regain his composure.

"I just—I said some things. I'm not proud of them and I didn't mean any of it. I was just angry I guess." Nathan scoffed.

"That's gotta be your lamest excuse. I've heard you get more worked up over which of us gets the first jump shot!"

Lucas sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for this. "Listen, Nathan. I already feel like shit here ok? Trust me. You can't make me feel any worse than I do now."

"Really? Cuz I can think of about 20 different ways I could make you feel worse." Lucas rolled his eyes but was silently unnerved by the seriousness of his tone. Not that he was afraid—he could totally take him, of course—but the way he was so protective over Brooke made something under his skin sizzle. '_Was there something forming there_?' He pushed the thought aside, deciding now wasn't the time for petty jealousy.

"Can we just be serious here? Look I was just confused, alright? I mean what else am I supposed to think? It's not only me even! Everyone else sees it!"

"That's just it, Luke. You're not everybody else. You're the closest guy that has ever gotten to her, you know that? Even I haven't reached that stage of trust with her yet. You know her better than this, Luke." His voice lowered as he went on. He watched his brother's sullen expression and sighed. After a few minutes in silence, Lucas spoke up again.

"Why was she there?" Nathan looked up at him and met his gaze. "Brooke. She said something about being really upset…"

"Uhh..yeah. Maybe she should be the one to tell you that." Nathan said cautiously. The last thing he wanted was for Brooke to feel like he betrayed her trust. He knew she didn't like anyone knowing about her family and he wasn't sure how much she let Lucas in on. Lucas laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, well I don't think she's willing to talk to me right now." He looked at his brother with slightly pleading eyes. "Common Nathan, I just need to know."

His brother sighed. "Well, it's not like it'll be news." Lucas gave him a puzzled look and he continued. "Alright…she had a fight with her parents last night…" Lucas' eyes widened. He knew how much Brooke's parents got to her. While they were dating, he was appalled by how horrible they treated her and he found himself swearing he wouldn't let them do it if he could help it. It pissed him off then, and nothing's changed now.

"Was she ok?" he asked hastily. "Did she tell you about it?"

Nathan peered at his brother for a second before shaking his head sadly. "No. It was worse than usual, apparently. She came over crying and saying she didn't want to go home, so I let her in, and she fell asleep." Lucas looked away, eyes wide as he thought about everything that had happened. Totally fazed, he fell backwards and sat on a bench, staring out into thin air. Nathan sighed, feeling sorry for his brother.

"I am such an ass." He said quietly, still staring off into the distance. Nathan chuckled.

"More or less."

"I'm….I'm like Dan!" he said in a panicked voice.

"Dude….that's a little harsh." He said truthfully. Nathan watched his brother's lost expression and sighed. "Alright, look. I'm not saying that what you did was ok. Or that you're not one step closer to annoying the hell outta me before I pound your ass. But there is no way you're like Dan….well, in this case anyways." He said the last part more to himself than to Lucas but he realized his mistake when he saw Lucas glower at him. "What I mean is---I don't know what I mean." He paused. "Look, Brooke's in the cafe right now. She didn't look too pissed last I saw her, so this might be a good time to talk to her."

Lucas chuckled. "Like she'd talk to me."

"Yeah…you're right. Actually I'd bet she's more likely to kick your ass." He said this as if he was talking about the weather. Lucas gave him an incredulous look.

"Dude! If this is your idea of encouraging me, I can tell you right now it's not working!"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't really care if you see her or not. But I promised I'd meet her in the cafe and I'm already late. You do what you want." With that, Nathan got up and walked towards the cafe, leaving a shocked Lucas to wallow in his thoughts. He looked up and watched his brother's retreating form. Making up his mind, he took a deep breath and followed.

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"Hey Brooke!" Brooke whipped around and glared at Nathan as he approached the lunch table. Nathan gulped when he noted the fire radiating from her eyes. "Uhh…listen, sorry I'm late. I got held up."

"That doesn't matter, Nathan." She spat. "But if I hear one more—" she was cut off by a cocky remark from a passing boy.

"Hey! Nathan! Brooke Davis? Nice catch, dude!" He said, oblivious to the steaming Brooke behind him.

"THAT'S IT!" she screamed before she banged her fists on the table.

"Brooke! What're you doing!" Nathan asked, taken aback by the strength of her sudden outburst. Just then, Lucas walked in and stood beside Nathan.

"Uhhh…What's she doing?" he asked as he watched the fuming girl. Nathan shook his head in bewilderment.

Brooke climbed onto one of the cafeteria tables. "Excuse me." She tried to get the attention of the students. "Hellloooo!" she said louder this time but only got some weird glances from some people. "HEY!" she yelled, banging the table hard with her 6 inch heels. This got the attention of everyone and the room immediately became silent not wanting to agitate her further. Once she was sure she had everybody's attention, she smiled mockingly and said "Hi. I'm sure you've all heard about my moving in with Nathan Scott. And if you haven't, then I strongly suggest you crawl out from underneath that rock you've been living under cuz I don't think it could be too sanitary." She made a disgusted face and scowled earning small chuckles from those around her. "Anyways, here's the deal. We, as in me and Nathan, are by no means what so ever involved in any kind of romantic intercourse. Sexual, or otherwise." She glared at Bevin. "Now if I hear anyone repeat differently, I will have it so that EVERY single detail about EVERY single relationship of EVERY single one of you is ripped through and exposed till about the time you all reach your thirties…cuz by then I'd probably get bored and move on to something else to entertain me." She flashed her tight smile at everyone. "And to anyone who has a problem with that, speak now so I don't have to waste my time kicking your ass later." She looked at everyone in the cafe, some were wearing shocked faces, some were smirking and shaking their heads at her bluntness, while others just looked away either embarrassed or just scared. After waiting a moment she smiled her giddy smile and went back to her usual energetic self. "Well then! Good. Glad we cleared that up! Sorry to have disturbed your lunch." And with that she hopped down off the table and made her way over to the Scott boys. Lucas just chuckled as he watched her satisfied face and Nathan shook his head.

"What?"

"You're really something. You know that?"

"Of course I do Boy Toy. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure that out." She smirked at him.

"Modest too." Lucas teased but instead received a glare from her before she marched off. The brothers exchanged worried glances before Nathan gave Lucas an encouraging nod in her direction. Sighing, he turned around and went looking for her.

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He found her sitting outside on a bench, shuffling through her purse. She looked up when she heard someone moving towards her and glared daggers at him.

'Hey." He offered awkwardly and was disappointed when he didn't receive a response. "Can we talk?" he asked hopefully.

"That depends." Her voice was scratchy; a definite sign that she was upset. "Do you wanna talk to a cheating home wrecker?" she asked bitterly.

"I never said that."

"Yeah, well, you might as well have." Lucas felt his heart sink for what had to be the 20h time that day. Brushing a frustrated hand through his hair, he took in a deep breath and savored the feeling of the cool breeze brushing across his face. Lucas looked down at Brooke and for a second, his breath caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful with the light wind brushing against her faintly rosy cheeks, her hair blowing around her face occasionally rubbing off on her soft, flawless skin. She had a far away look in her eyes that showed a hidden sadness covered up by an exhilarating sense of passion. Lucas released the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. It was times like these that he realized just how much he missed her and how much he had screwed up. After watching her look off into the distance a bit more, he decided to tear the silence.

"I'm sorry." He spit out. Brooke looked up at him as if just realizing he was there. She gave him a confused look and he continued. "I don't know what else to say. I just—over reacted, and I'm sorry." Brooke chuckled bitterly and Lucas' face fell. He knew it was a lame apology but that's really all he had.

"Sorry? Is that supposed to make me feel better, Luke? This isn't the first time you made me feel like some pathetic slut!"

"I know that! I mean, I'm sorry—listen, I didn't know what else to think. With Haley gone and the way Nathan's been acting…." He trailed off and sighed. "I guess…I was a little jealous…." This last statement seemed to perk Brooke's curiosity and she finally turned to him.

"Jealous? Of what?" Lucas gazed into her shocked and questioning eyes. Behind the confusion he could see a spark of anxiety slowly ignite as he stared on. He wondered if he should tell her how he truly felt. Nathan's words echoed through his mind. _"Luke, do you really think after all you put her through before she's gonna take you back?"_

"It's just that…we only just recently got over our past and became friends. And that's important to me, Brooke. But for the past week I've felt that we've somehow lost it. Like you've moved on to Nathan or something and we're back to how we were in the beginning. And that scared me." She didn't say anything. She just continued to stare at him with a blank expression, which made him feel all the more awkward. "I know it's stupid. And I know that it doesn't change what I said. But that's my answer, I guess." He knew it was lame, but it was the truth—partially, anyways. He looked down at her returning gaze and waited for her to say something—anything. Sighing, Brooke turned her gaze away and began to examine the ground in front of her.

"You men are idiots." She said casually which caused Lucas to laugh. He looked at her with anticipating eyes as they were driven into a short silence once again.

"So…we good?"

Brooke sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's totally understandable that you wouldn't want to share me."

Lucas laughed heartily. "No I wouldn't."

"You want to keep me all to yourself."

"That I do."

"Selfish Jerk." Lucas, who started to laugh thinking they were joking around, abruptly frowned and looked down at her serious face.

"Wha—" As if he wasn't confused enough, Brooke suddenly dropped her serious face and erupted into a fit of giggles.

"You shoulda seen your face!" she laughed energetically much to Lucas's confusion. When she finally calmed down, she looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah…we're good."

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Thick steam filled the white tiled room, the sound of water shooting from showerheads thundering in the background. A wet and refreshed Nathan walked from behind the shower wall, a long white towel wrapped tightly around his waist. Water dripped down his hard, bulking upper body outlining the curves of the flexing muscles as he raised an arm and whipped his drenched hair off his forehead.

"Yo, yoz, NathON!" the addressed grinned and shook his head at his best friend.

"Just say hi, Tim."

"Aww common man! I need to up my step to match the guy who scored one, sexy Brooke Davis."

"Tim! Did you not hear Brooke's speech at lunch!"

Tim looked innocently at his idol and shrugged. "She's not hear." He said, anxiously.

"Ok. First of all…What the hell does 'up my step' mean? And Second, There's nothing goin' on between me and Brooke!"

A knowing glint flashed through Tim's eyes and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "It sure looked like there was when she came to your apartment last night."

"What're you talking about?"

"It was Thursday night, Nate; your weekly Tim Time. I got to your apartment and saw Brooke run up your steps. She looked like she was in a hurry and when I saw you take her in your arms I decided to leave and let you get. it. on. Know what I'm saying?"

"It was you!" Nathan lunged at him but stopped at the surprised look that crossed his friend's face. Tim backed away by the sudden advance and bumped into a classmate.

"Yo, man, watch it!"

"Shut up, Justine!" Nathan shot before turning back to Tim. "You're the one who spread those rumors!"

"Nate…what rumors? It was pretty clear what was going down when you brought her in with a luggage bag."

"Tim! Wh—She just came to talk! Sometimes girls and guys can just hang you know."

"Dude…" the guy named Justine spoke up. "It's Brooke Davis."

You could hardly even see it. In a matter of seconds Nathan had pinned Justine against one of the lockers.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Dude, Wh—Gittoff me!" Justine struggled to detach Nathan's fists from his shirt collar. "What's wrong with you!" With this question Nathan banged his victim's back once against the locker.

"Nothing's wrong. I just want to know what you meant by that last comment of yours."

"Uhhhh…Nate…Whitey could com—"

"Shut it Tim. You're already high on my 'pissed list' as it is." He seethed and Tim looked away, scared. "Well!"

Justine, irritated and embarrassed, glared at Nathan. "Simply put? You're girl's a hoe—"

Nathan didn't let him finish. In that split second, his knees collided with Justine's abdomen, a cry of pain escaping the latter's lips. This gave way to a series of beatings, the entire guys' gym class joining in.

A loud screech filled the room, echoing against the hard tiled walls and stopping the fight. In the doorway, wide eyed and fuming stood a furious Whitey glaring down at the state of his gym class.

"EVERYONE OF YOU! DETENTION AFTER SCHOOL! TODAY!"

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Peyton stood at her closet door, painting furiously while a lone tear streamed down her face.

"Lemme guess," She jumped at the sudden yet familiar voice that came from behind her. "You accidentally broke a mirror and are now reflection on the 7 years of bad luck you'll be cursed with."

"Oh…Hey Brooke." She said in an apathetic voice. Her best friend gave her a small smile before glancing at the painting in front of her. It was of a cracked mirror, in the middle of a dark abyss, Peyton's teary reflection looking out on the room.

"Lucas told me about Jake." She said quietly, sighing at the look of devastation that crossed Peyton's face. "I'm so sorry Peyt—"

"I tried calling you." she started abruptly. "But your parents answered and quickly hung up on me."

Brooke cursed her parents under her breath before moving closer and embracing her friend. "I'm sorry I wasn't there." She said in a nasal voice. "My parents just had another fight and I—had to go somewhere."

"It's ok….it's just that—" she took a deep breath to regain her composure. "I really loved them."

She couldn't hold it in. Without warning, she collapsed in her best friends arms and began to cry hysterically.

Brooke, now frantic, pulled her friend up and led her to the bed.

"Shh….P. Sawyer. It's okay. We'll get them back…somehow." She tried to reassure her friend but to no avail. Peyton, in an attempt to control herself moved out of Brooke's embrace and hastily wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Brooke shook her head telling her there was nothing to be sorry about. "Anyways, enough of this. What about you? Parent's pissing you off again?"

"Yeah. But thankfully, I'm used to it." she gave Peyton her best smile but being her best friend, she saw right through it. Brooke sighed at the knowing look she gave her. "Ok….so it bugged me a little. But we're not here to talk about the Grinch and his hoe. We are here to make you forget about any troubles and come back to the bitchy yet slightly broody punkish freak we all know and love."

"Well gee….thanks, I think."

"Anytime." She stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "Now. Get dressed, missy cuz we are going out!" Brooke slapped Peyton's thigh before jumping off the bed and started for the closet.

"Brooke?" the addressed turned around with a questioning look.

"I don't feel like going out today. Could we just…talk?" Brooke's eyes softened and she sent a small smile towards her friend.

"Of course." She said softly before crawling back on the bed. The two girls lay beside each other, lost in their own thoughts.

"So…" Peyton started. "How was school?"

**Heh. Heh….hi. Umm…right so I'm not even going to attempt to excuse myself by how long this has gone by but all I can say is school's a bitch.  so yes….please no hate me. :P Not my best work, but I wanted to get back into this story. I'm working on my first one also and I kinda like it better cuz it's a brucas and I LOVE brucas. And I'm working on 3 other stories. 1 is Nookie, 1 Brucas and the last one is either. So I'm not sitting on my ass here doing nothing. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. I didn't. But I hope you do:D luvies! **

**PLEASE read and REVIEW!**


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